Rio Brazos (New Mexico) abruptly west into the Brazos Box, one of the largest canyons in New Mexico with a maximum depth of more than . Here, it passes the Brazos Cliffs, receives Gavilan and Encinado Creeks, and picks up an unnamed tributary which feeds Brazos Falls, reputedly New Mexico's highest waterfall with a total drop of . Northeast of Tierra Amarilla, the river emits from the mountains, receiving Chavez Creek from the right. It passes the settlements of Ensenada, Brazos and Los Ojos before flowing into the Rio Chama about northwest of Santa Fe. The Brazos is a perennial stream, reaching its highest
Straight Cliffs Formation Sevier fold-thrust belt was a mountain range forming to the west of the Kaiparowits while the Cordilleran volcanic arc was further west in California. Although the Straight Cliffs Fm was deposited in an ancient basin it is preserved in a modern physiographic plateau. The Kaiparowits Plateau covers 3,600 km2 and preserves strata located roughly 120 km east of the leading edge of the thrust front at the time of deposition. First analyzed for its coal content, the Straight Cliffs Formation was assessed by Gregory and Moore (1931) and later by Peterson (1969a, 1969b) and Vaninetti (1979). The formation has four