Rincon (meadow)

For other uses, see Rincon.

Rincones are visible on two mountain peaks northwest of Los Alamos, New Mexico, above slopes burned in the Cerro Grande Fire

Small meadow, called a rincón by the photographer

A rincón is a grass meadow. The term is in wide use in English in the southwest United States, where it refers specifically to a sloping (usually steep) meadow on the south facing upper slopes of a forested mountain. These characteristic high meadows are formed by the repeated freezing and thawing of snow accumulations on south facing slopes, creating a habitat not conducive to forest. They are further maintained by a high frequency of low-intensity wildfire. A notable example of a wildfire begun in a rincon, with catastrophic consequences, was the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire in New Mexico, United States.

See also

• goat prairie
• potrero