Landscape Lingo

Our first regular feature: Landscape Lingo. In an attempt to re-unite us with our roots, we will investigate landscape-related words that are slipping into the abyss of unused langauge.

First Up: Acequia

"Acequias, or irrigation ditches, are found throughout the American Southwest. The word comes from the Arabic al-saqiya, which means, 'water conduit' (not necessarily for irrigation). The Moors, who occupied Spain for nearly 800 years, until 1492, were deeply versed in survival techniques from the North American deserts and introduced methods for water management to the Iberian Peninsula. In the sixteenth century, Spanish colonists to the arid Southwest brought with them a sophisticated understanding of irrigation systems, which in some areas merged with equally elaborate systems devised by pre-Columbian cultures, such as the Hohokam of central Arizona. Settlements throughout the Southwest benefited from this knowledge."

Words are taken from: Home Ground; Language from an American Landscape by Barry Lopez & Debra Gwartney