By Terry Munderloh
The broad expanse of Chino Valley forms an alluvial basin where subterranean water discharges to the surface for an area of many acres. The spring water, once brought to the surface, then seeps back to the source ground waters, recharging the subterranean aquifers. Surface water in the arid southwest is a magnet for life and ancient ruins attest to prehistoric man's occupation of this valley, but it was the Spanish explorers who gave these springs the name we know them by today: Del Rio.