Gila River
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| Gila River | |
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| Origin | Sierra County, New Mexico |
| Mouth | Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona |
| Basin countries | United States, Mexico |
| Length | 649 mi (1,044 km) [1] |
| Mouth elevation | 118 ft (36 m) [1] |
| Avg. discharge | 6070 cfs |
| Basin area | Colorado River |
The Gila /'hilə/ River (O'odham [Pima]: Gila Akimel) is a tributary of the Colorado River, 649 mile (1,044 km) long, in the southwestern United States.
It rises in western New Mexico, in Sierra County on the western slope of continental divide in the Black Range. It flows southwest to the Gila National Forest and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, then westward into Arizona, past the city of Safford, and along the southern slope of the Gila Mountains (Graham County). It emerges from the mountains into the valley southeast of Phoenix, where it crosses the Gila River Indian Reservation as an intermittent stream, due to its use as a water source. West of Phoenix, it turns abruptly southward along the Gila Bend Mountains, then abruptly westward again near the town of Gila Bend, Arizona. It flows southwestward through the Gila Mountains (Yuma County) and joins the Colorado near Yuma, Arizona.
The Gila is one of the largest desert rivers in the world. It and its chief tributary, the Salt River, would both be perennial streams carrying large volumes of water, but irrigation and municipal water diversions turn both into largely dry rivers. Below Phoenix to the Colorado River, the Gila is largely a trickle or dry, as is the lower Salt from Granite Reef Diversion Dam downstream to the Gila, though both rivers can carry massive volumes of water following rain storms. The natural mean flow of the Gila is 6070 cfs at its mouth with the Colorado, second only in volume of Colorado River tributaries to the Green River. The Gila used to be navigable by small craft from its mouth to near the Arizona - New Mexico border. The width varied from 150 - 1,200 feet (370 m) with a depth from 2 - 40 feet (12 m).
After the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848, the river served as a portion of the border between the United States and Mexico until the 1853 Gadsden Purchase extended U.S. territory south of the Gila. The confluence of the Gila with the Colorado river was also used as a reference point for the southern border of California.
The only major dam on the Gila River is Coolidge Dam 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Globe, Arizona, which forms San Carlos Lake. The Painted Rock Dam crosses the Gila near Gila Bend, although the river is ephemeral at that point. A number of minor diversion dams exist on the river between Painted Rock and Coolidge Dams, including the Gillespie Dam which was breeched during a flood in 1993.
The upper Gila River, including the entire length within New Mexico, is free-flowing. Recent efforts to allow for damming or otherwise diverting this stretch have met with stiff resistance, having been named as one of the nation's most endangered rivers due to the threat of damming. New Mexico governor Bill Richardson has promised to block any such attempt during his term, and has even considered pushing for a statutory prohibition against any such projects on the state's portion of the river.[2]
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[edit] Gila Akimel O'odham
A band of Pima (autonym "Akimel O'odham", river people), the Gila Akimel O'odham (Gila River People), have lived on the banks of the Gila River since before the arrival of Spanish explorers. Popular theory says that the word Gila was derived from a Spanish contraction of Hah-quah-sa-eel, a Yuma Indian word meaning "running water which is salty".[3]
Their traditional way of life (himdagĭ, sometimes rendered in English as Him-dak) was and is centered at the river, which is considered holy. Traditionally, sand from the banks of the river is used as an exfoliant when bathing (often in rainstorms, especially during the monsoon).
In the Gila River Indian Community, the traditional way of life has generally been better preserved than in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Some speculate this may be due to the fact that the Gila River, a central aspect of the traditional way of life, still flows through the reservation year-round (although at times as an intermittent stream), while the Salt River does not.[citation needed]
[edit] Variant names
The Gila River has also been known as:[1]
- Akee-mull
- Apache de Gila
- Brazo de Miraflores
- Cina`ahuwipi
- Hah-quah-sa eel
- Hela River
- Jila River
- Rio Azul
- Rio Gila
- Rio de las Balsas
- Rio del Nombre Jesus
- Rio del los Apostoles
- Zila River
- Xila River
- Keli Akimel
[edit] See also
- San Francisco River
- San Pedro River
- Santa Cruz River
- Agua Fria River (Arizona)
- List of Arizona rivers
- List of New Mexico rivers
- Gila River War Relocation Center
- Gila monster
- Needle's Eye Wilderness
- Gila and Salt River Meridian
[edit] References
- ^ a b c USGS GNIS: Gila River
- ^ Massey, Barry. "NM governor pledges to fight Gila River diversion", Las Cruces Sun-News, 2008-04-17. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Gila National Forest. United States Forest Service (2003-12-04). Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
