Acequia

Common card · No. 451360

An acequia (Spanish: [aˈθekja]) or séquia (Catalan: [ˈsekiə, -a], also known as síquia [ˈsikiə, -a], all from Andalusian Arabic: (ال)ساقية, romanized: (al-)sāqiya) is a community-operated watercourse used for irrigation in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas; they are found in parts of Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and what is now the Southwestern United States (primarily New Mexico and Colorado). In the United States, the oldest known irrigation canals are found throughout the historical region of Nuevo México and date back to 1200 BCE. Irrigation was extensively used by the Pueblo peoples in Oasisamerica in the Pre-Columbian era. In 1598, Hispanos of New Mexico arrived and brought irrigation methods from Europe. This created a very distinctive indigenous and Hispanic tradition of irrigation and agriculture. Scholars describe acequias as "technological systems that are designed, maintained, and operated to meet a variety of productive goals, social services, and health...

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