Tapeats Creek is a creek located entirely within the Grand Canyon National Park. It flows southwest from its source near the North Rim of the canyon to the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

at the base of the canyon. It was named by the Second Powell Expedition in the winter of 1871–1872 for a Southern Paiute Indian who claimed ownership of the stream. It contributes the largest amount of water to the Colorado of any tributary on the north side within the Grand Canyon.

Sources

The creek is fed from Tapeats Spring, the largest Spring in the Grand Canyon. In 1970, the spring was estimated to discharge of water per day into the creek from the Muav Limestone. A small amount of surface water can also flow into the creek. Since the spring flows year round, the creek is a perennial stream.

Tributaries

Tapeats Creek has one named tributary, Thunder River, a long river that begins where a natural spring ( Thunder Springs) emerges at an elevation of and then drops by approximately . The river, the steepest and one of the shortest in the United States, ends at the bottom of a waterfall where it joins Tapeats Creek.

Environment

Common trees along the creek are tamarisk and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

s, with equisetum, mimulus, and cress found along the banks.

Algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

-covered rocks are found in most of the creek. Common aquatic invertebrate found in the creek include mayflies, different types of caddisflies, flies and riffle beetles. Bladder snails, isopods and damselflies can also be found.

Fishing

The creek is considered one of Arizona's best wild-trout streams. The creek can be reached by Thunder River Trail from the North Rim, which is only accessible from mid-May to late October. Alternatively, the creek can be reached by raft trip on the Colorado River.

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

are plentiful and average and can reach .

The following geologic features are located in the vicinity and are named after the creek: *the Tapeats Sandstone, which is exposed above the creek *the Tapeats Rapids in the Colorado, located where the creek enters the river *Tapeats Amphitheater, a large basin containing the creek's headwaters *Tapeats Terrace, a terrace with wide low benches *Tapeats Spring, the natural spring that feeds the creek

Notes

References