Arroyo (Spanish for creek or stream) refers to a "wash" (dry creek bed or gulch).
The site may be dry for months or years. In a period of heavy rain the creek bed fills with moving water. This may take the form of a flash flood after a particularly heavy rain.
The flat waterbed is attractive for building:
(1) housing may be built in the area during a drought
(2) the beds are attractive for camping
Anything build in an arroyo may be washed away after a heavy rain, which may have occurred at some distance away.
If the land has been landscaped the presence of the arroyo may go unrecognized for years.
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