Aravaipa Creek is a drainage between three
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...
s in southwest
Graham County,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
– the
Galiuro Mountains
The Galiuro Mountains are a large sky island mountain range of southeast Arizona, United States. It is a northerly mountain range in the Madrean Sky Islands region of southeast Arizona, northern Sonora in northwestern Mexico, and the extreme ...
, the
Santa Teresa Mountains
The Santa Teresa Mountains are a mountain range located within the Coronado National Forest and partly within the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, in western Graham County, Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣona ...
and the
Pinaleno Mountains. These mountains are part of the high altitude
Madrean Sky Islands
The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine–oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are s ...
located in southern Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and northern Sonora and Chihuahua states in Mexico.
Aravaipa Creek originates on the southeast flank of the Galiuro Mountains at Durkee Canyon and
Blue Peak at .
[Arizona Road and Recreation Atlas, pp. 82–83.] It then flows northwest through the narrow, fault-blocked Aravaipa Valley with the Pinaleno Mountains bordering the valley on the east and the Santa Teresa Mountains bordering on the northeast. On the west side of the valley, the creek follows the northeast and north perimeter of the Galiuro Mountains
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
flowing northwest, west, and then southwest through and around the range's north end to meet the
San Pedro River a few miles south of
Dudleyville.
The town of
Klondyke is located in the heart of the Aravaipa Valley about 35 miles west from
Eden which is located on
U.S. Route 70. There is also access to Klondyke via
Arizona State Route 266
State Route 266 (SR 266) is a highway in Graham County, Arizona that runs from its junction with US 191 south of Safford to Fort Grant. It is an east–west route.
Route description
The eastern terminus of SR 266 is located on US 191 so ...
to
Bonita (passing near
Fort Grant
Fort Amador ( es, Fuerte Amador) and Fort Grant were former United States Army bases built to protect the Pacific (southern) end of the Panama Canal at Panama Bay. Amador was the primary on-land site, lying below the Bridge of the Americas. Grant ...
) and thence on a gravel road north through the valley. Bonita may also be accessed by gravel road north from
Willcox.
West of Klondyke in the Galiuro Mountains is the location of the well known
Power's Cabin shootout. The former populated area of
Aravaipa is located at the end of the Klondyke Road on the slopes of the Santa Teresa Mountains, north of Klondyke.
Aravaipa Canyon at the north end of the Galiuro Mountains contains the
Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness. The creek goes northwest then southwest through the canyon and downstream about to meet the San Pedro River and
Arizona State Route 77
State Route 77 (or SR 77) is a state highway in Arizona that traverses much of the state's length, stretching from its northern terminus at the boundary of the Navajo Nation north of Holbrook to its junction with I-10 in Tucson.
Route descrip ...
between Dudleyville and Mammoth, Arizona, Mammoth. Access to the eastern end of the wilderness is located north of Klondyke on the Klondyke Road.
See also
* List of rivers of Arizona
References
External links
Map of Aravaipa Creek from Northern Arizona University.Aravaipa Creek confluence with the San Pedro RiverGeohydrology Assessment of Aravaipa Canyon from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.YouTube video of driving the Klondyke Road from Pima, Arizona (from the east) to the east end of Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness.Photos of driving to Klondyke from Wilcox (from the south), then to the east end of the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness, and then hiking the eastern part of the canyon.
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Rivers of Arizona
Rivers of Graham County, Arizona
Pinaleño Mountains