Embudo, New Mexico

Embudo (also Embudo Station) is an unincorporated community in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. The community runs along both sides of the Rio Grande on New Mexico State Road 68, beginning at Embudo Station located 2.9 mi south of the intersection of New Mexico State Road 75, near where the Embudo Creek (Rio Embudo) flows into the Rio Grande, encompassing the communities of La Bolsa and Rinconada and ending at the Taos County Line.

Etymology
The name "Embudo", meaning "funnel" in Spanish, was given to the area by early Spanish settlers because the spot where the Rio Embudo flowed between two distinctive cone shaped hills reminded them of a funnel.

Embudo was founded in 1881 when the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad opened a station (depot) there on its Chili Line. The station was named after the village San Antonio de Embudo, located two miles up the Embudo Creek, and until 1902 the communities shared a post office and were known jointly as Embudo. In 1900, anticipating a separate post office in the village, San Antonio de Embudo changed its name to Dixon after the Presbyterian missionary Dixon, who established a mission there. When the Dixon post office opened in 1902, however, Embudo lost its post office. Embudo got a post office again in 1905, only to lose it in 1909. In 1914, Embudo once again had its own post office, zip code 87531, but the building was removed in 2016, and mailboxes were transferred to the Dixon post office.

Tourist Attractions
The scenic section of the New Mexico State Road 68 that runs along the Rio Grande and the length of Embudo is a destination route for tourists with tourist attractions to enjoy along the way, including multiple wineries, a brewery, galleries and the outdoor Classical Gas Museum.

Embudo Valley Vineyards and Winery Tasting Room is set in a historic, craftsman style house in the Rinconada neighborhood of Embudo. The winery and vineyard sit on the 25 cultivated acres of the Embudo Valley Organics farm on the banks of the Rio Grande in the scenic canyon between Santa Fe and Taos.

Transport links
Today, from the state road a concrete bridge, replacing the old wooden bridge, crosses the Rio Grande to the "Embudo Historic District" which consists of the old railway station and associated buildings. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) gauging station at Embudo, to measure the flow of the Rio Grande, was the first (USGS) stream gauging station and was established by John Wesley Powell in 1888. Embudo was also the first USGS training center for hydrographers.

Embudo was originally on U.S. Route 64 (US 64), a major national east-west highway and the main route between Santa Fe and Taos. In 1974 US 64 was realigned to end at Tonopah, Arizona rather than Santa Fe by passing Embudo.

Equally interesting as the old railroad station are the Casa Piedras also known as the Rock-a-Bye, the station master's home about a mile north of the station. The station master veneered his home and outbuildings with river rock cobbles, it is said to pass the time.

Notable people

 * Raul Midón, musician
 * Casimiro Barela, Colorado politician
 * Susan K. Herrera, member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
 * Ra Paulette, cave sculptor