Tenmile Wash is an
ephemeral
Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
wash
WASH (or Watsan, WaSH) is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". It is used widely by non-governmental organizations and aid agencies in developing countries. The purposes of providing access to WASH services include achievi ...
and watercourse about long in the northern
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...
of south-central Arizona. It forms the eastern drainage of a two drainage system of dry washes into the
Gila River Valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
; both flow northwesterly, and the western drainage is the
San Cristobal Wash Drainage of approximately the same length.
Description
Tenmile Wash begins east of
Ajo, Arizona
Ajo ( ) is an unincorporated community in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is the closest community to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The population was 3,304 at the 2010 census. Ajo is located on State Route 85 just from the ...
. The
Little Ajo and
Growler Mountains are west; a series of mountains form the eastern perimeter, and especially the
Pozo Redondo Mountains Pozo may refer to:
People
* Alejandro Pozo (born 1999), Spanish footballer
* Angelica Pozo, American clay artist
* Arnulfo Pozo (born 1945), Ecuadorian cyclist
* Arquimedez Pozo (born 1973), Dominican baseball player
* Chano Pozo (1915–1948) ...
in the southeast. At this point a
water divide occurs with the drainage south actually turning back northwest as part of the San Cristobal drainage through the
Growler Valley
The Growler Valley is a valley of south-central Arizona west of Ajo, Arizona.
Growler Valley is a 65-mile (105-km) long valley paralleling the Growler Mountains on the east-(attached to the Little Ajo Mountains), and the Granite Mountains on ...
(and is the north end of the
Valley of the Ajo).
East and north of Ajo, Tenmile Wash flows northwest through the
Childs Valley
The Childs Valley is a valley in the Sonoran Desert of south-central Arizona northwest of Ajo. Upstream sections are located in far western Pima County; downstream it merges into the Gila River Valley in southwestern Maricopa County. Upstream, t ...
, on its eastern edge, as the west side of the Childs is drained by the Daniels Wash, again flowing into the San Cristobal drainage to the west.
At the downstream north end, Tenmile Wash traverses the western
Sentinel Plain and enters the
Park Valley through the Canyon Diablo; the watercourse then forms its own watercourse flowing southwestwards paralleling the Gila River to the north. They merge downstream.
Midway Wash is the eastern portion of the Tenmile Wash drainage; it also drains northwesterly into regions of the southern and central Sentinel Plain.
Access
The north region of the Tenmile Wash traverses
Interstate 8 west of
Sentinel and 2 miles east of
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
. The southern region is accessed easily in the Ajo region on
State Route 85; dirt roads also exit west from the north-south State Route 85 route, to access other parts of Tenmile Wash.
See also
*
List of rivers of Arizona
List of rivers in Arizona (U.S. state), sorted by name.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.
Colorado River
*Colorado River—(downstream-to-upstr ...
External links
Tenmile Wash Watershed MapSan Cristobal Wash Watershed MapLower Gila – Painted Rock Reservoir Watershed Map– the upstream watershed:
Painted Rock Reservoir
Lower Gila Watershed Map– the downstream watershed (entering the Colorado River)
{{Rivers and streams of Arizona
Washes of Arizona
Rivers of Pima County, Arizona
Rivers of Yuma County, Arizona
Tributaries of the Gila River