arroyo

American  

[uh-roi-oh] / əˈrɔɪ oʊ /

noun

plural

arroyos

1. (chiefly in southwest U.S.) a small steep-sided watercourse or gulch with a nearly flat floor: usually dry except after heavy rains.

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arroyo ¹ British  

/ əˈrɔɪəʊ /

noun

1. a steep-sided stream bed that is usually dry except after heavy rain

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Arroyo ² British  

/ əˈrɔɪjəʊ /

noun

1. Gloria Macapagal. born 1947, Filipino stateswoman; vice-president of the Philippines (1998–2001); president (2001–10)

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arroyo Scientific  

/ ə-roi′ō /

1. A small, deep gully or channel of an ephemeral stream. Arroyos usually have relatively flat floors and are flanked by steep sides consisting of unconsolidated sediments. They are usually dry except after heavy rainfall.

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Etymology

Origin of arroyo

1800–10, < Spanish; akin to Latin arrūgia mine shaft

Explanation

Ever see a dried out stream or brook that sometimes, after a good rain, is racing with water? That's an arroyo, or a creek that dries out and fills with water depending on the time of year and weather. The Arroyo Seco in Southern California is an example of a well-known arroyo. Its name, which translates from Spanish to mean "dry stream" is an apt way to describe what an arroyo is — dry at times, and flowing at others. An arroyo can be natural or man-made. The Los Angeles River, for example, is an arroyo that runs along a concrete channel and helps distribute fresh water to the city.

Example Sentences

Hikers can see California buckwheat, arroyo willow, black sage, big berry manzanita and hairy ceanothus.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2024

"The ongoing and historic amount of rainfall is expected to cause life-threatening to locally catastrophic flash, urban and arroyo flooding including landslides, mudslides and debris flows today," the service said.

From Reuters • Aug. 21, 2023

“Flash, urban, and arroyo flooding is possible with the potential for significant impacts.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 17, 2023

On a reporting trip to the U.S. border with Mexico some years ago, I was taken by an immigration expert to an arroyo on the outskirts of Tucson.

From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2023

He found the place near the side of the arroyo where she had buried the rags in the yellow sand.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko