Black River (Arizona)
Black River | |
Country | United States |
---|---|
State | Arizona |
County | Apache, Graham, Navajo, Gila, Greenlee |
Source | near Alpine |
- location | Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Greenlee County |
- elevation | 7,482 ft (2,281 m) [1] |
- coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. [2] |
Mouth | Salt River |
- location | Confluence with White River, Gila County |
- elevation | 4,222 ft (1,287 m) [2] |
- coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. [2] |
Length | 114 mi (183 km) [3] |
Basin | 1,314 sq mi (3,403 km2) [4] |
Discharge | for mouth (average) and a gauge 5 miles (8 km) upstream for maximum and minimum |
- average | 420 cu ft/s (12 m3/s) [4][5] |
- max | 54,700 cu ft/s (1,549 m3/s) |
- min | 11 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
The Black River is a 114-mile-long (183 km)[3] river in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of Arizona. It forms southwest of Alpine and flows southwest then northwest to meet the White River west of Fort Apache. The merged streams form the Salt River, a major tributary of the Gila River.[6]
James Ohio Pattie named the river in 1826 as he explored the area.[7]
Course
From source to mouth, the river flows through Apache, Greenlee, Graham, Navajo and Gila counties.[2] It forms a boundary between Apache and Greenlee counties, then between Apache and Graham counties, and further downstream, between Graham and Navajo counties.[6]
Along its lower reaches, the Black River is the boundary between the Fort Apache Indian Reservation on the north and the San Carlos Indian Reservation on the south.[6] The river also passes near the Bear Wallow Wilderness, through which flows one of the river's tributaries, Bear Wallow Creek.[6]
Some of the places along the lower river are difficult to reach. Many of the roads in the area are unpaved and unmarked on major maps. The "Black River AZ Map" and "Lower Black River guide book" show more details. Bear encounters are possible along this river.
Flora and fauna
Rainbow and brown trout and smallmouth bass are among the 13 species of fish found in the Black River.[4] Major fishes in this river system also include channel catfish, desert suckers, and fathead minnows, among others.[4]
The East Fork Black River and West Fork Black River, which merge to form the mainstem, have populations of brown trout and Apache trout.[8] The headwaters tributaries support many aquatic insects, including more than 30 species of caddisflies. Some of the state's best sports fisheries are found in the Black River watershed.[9] Special permits are required to fish on either reservation.
Plants in the riparian zones include several kinds of willows and cottonwoods, as well as alders and saltcedar.[4] Beaver, muskrats, great blue herons, mallards, and osprey are among the vertebrates found in or near the river.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Benke and Cushing, p. 536
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Benke and Cushing, p. 519
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Works cited
- Benke, Arthur C., ed., and Cushing, Colbert E., ed.; Blinn, Dean W. and Poff, N. Leroy (2005). "Chapter 11: Colorado River Basin" in Rivers of North America. Burlington, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-088253-1. OCLC 59003378.
External links
- Use mdy dates from October 2012
- Pages with broken file links
- Geobox usage tracking for river type
- White Mountains (Arizona)
- Rivers of Arizona
- Rivers and streams of Apache County, Arizona
- Rivers and streams of Graham County, Arizona
- Rivers and streams of Greenlee County, Arizona
- Rivers and streams of Navajo County, Arizona
- Tributaries of the Salt River (Arizona)