The San Rafael Valley is a high intermontane grass valley in eastern
Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Santa Cruz is a county in southern Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population is 47,669. The county seat is Nogales. The county was established in 1899. It borders Pima County to the north and west, Cochise County to the eas ...
. The valley is bounded to the west by the
Patagonia Mountains, to the north and northeast by the
Canelo Hills
The Canelo Hills are a range of low mountains or hills in eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The range consists of a series of northwest–southeast trending ridges extending from the Sonoita Creek valley southwest of Sonoita to the Parker Can ...
and to the east by the
Huachuca Mountains
The Huachuca Mountains are part of the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, approximately south-southeast of Tucson and southwest of the city of Sierra Vista. Included in this ar ...
in
Cochise County
Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise.
The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is ...
. The valley forms the headwaters of the
Santa Cruz River which flows south into
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...
,
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
just east of the historic
Lochiel townsite.
The San Rafael de la Zanja Land Grant lies in the valley center just north of
Lochiel. The
Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
purchased the former land grant ranch in 1998 and Arizona established the "San Rafael State Natural Area" in the valley in 1999 on the southern part of that property. The protected areas are not open to the public. The land grant is privately owned. The State Natural Area is south of the land grant, and borders Mexico. In 2008, the
San Rafael Ranch headquarters was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
as the "San Rafael Ranch Historic District".
Santa Rita Mountains
The Santa Rita Mountains (O'odham: To:wa Kuswo Doʼag), located about 65 km (40 mi) southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km (26 mi) from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Pata ...
in the background.
Cattle Grazing In San Rafael Valley Arizona 2014.JPG, Cattle grazing in San Rafael Valley.
Cattle Next To Water Tank San Rafael Valley Arizona 2014.JPG, Cattle next to a water tank.
See also
*
Cienega Valley (Arizona)
*
Sulphur Springs Valley
The Sulphur Springs Valley is a valley in the eastern half of Cochise County, Arizona. The valley covers an approximated vertical rectangle west of the Chiricahua Mountains– Dos Cabezas Mountains complex. The Sulphur Springs Valley is the larg ...
References
San Rafael State Natural Area – Arizona
{{Authority control
Landforms of Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Valleys of Arizona
Chihuahuan Desert