Cienega

This article is about springs. For other uses, see Ciénaga (disambiguation).

A restored cienega in Balmorhea State Park

A cienega or cienaga (from Spanish) is a spring that is usually is a wet, marshy area at the foot of a mountain, in a canyon, or on the edge of a grassland where groundwater bubbles to the surface. Often, a cienega does not drain into a stream, but evaporates, forming a small playa. The term cienega is used in English in the southwestern United States.

Ecology

Because evaporation usually causes the water to be alkaline, vegetation around a cienega commonly includes halophytes, including many unusual, rare, and endangered species of plants and animals. Notable among these is the monotypic genus Anemopsis, widely known in the southwestern United States as Yerba mansa.

Notable cienegas

• La Cienega, New Mexico
• St David Cienega, Arizona
• Mesa Community College Red Mountain Campus Mesa, Arizona
• Las Vegas Springs Preserve, Nevada
• Cuatrociénegas, Coahuila, México.
• Ciénaga, Magdalena, Colombia
• San Solomon Springs, Texas

See also

• La Cienega (disambiguation)
• Salt pan
• Salt flat
• Oasis
• Grass valley