The Beaver Dam Wash is a seasonal stream near the southwestern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

border in the United States. At its southern end in northern

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 ...

, near the point where it empties into the

Virgin River The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about long.Calculated with Google Maps and Google Earth It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the ...

, the stream flows throughout the year. Part of the wash is in the

Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area The Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area is a United States National Conservation Area located in southwest Utah west of St. George along the borders with Arizona and Nevada. It is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as part of t ...

, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The wash was so named on account of

beaver dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers to create a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way t ...

s which once were built on its course. The wash occupies a transition zone among the Colorado Plateau, the Great Basin, and the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

ecosystems. Like all such zones, this area supports diverse vegetative communities and a rich array of wildlife.Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area
- Public Lands Information Center The wash begins in the

Clover Mountains The Clover Mountains are a mountain range in Lincoln County, Nevada. The Clover Mountains Wilderness makes up a large part of the mountain range. The Clover Mountains are the southern mountains on the east perimeter of the Meadow Valley Wash ...

Lincoln County, Nevada Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,345. Its county seat is Pioche. Like many counties in Nevada, it is dry and sparsely populated, though notable for containing the Area ...

and flows south across very sparsely populated desert terrain. The area around the wash, including several protected

wilderness areas Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

, includes forests of

Joshua tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

s along with other

yucca ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial plant, perennial shrubs and trees in the family (biology), family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their Rosette (botany), rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped Leaf, ...

s, cholla

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

barrel cactus Barrel cacti are various members of the two genera ''Echinocactus'' and ''Ferocactus'', endemic to the deserts of Southwestern North America southward to north central Mexico. Some of the largest specimens are found in the Sonoran Desert in So ...

, Mormon Tea, and other grasses and shrubs, the primary vegetation in the area. Animal life in the area consists of a variety of lizards, mammals, birds, insects, and other creatures found in the Mojave Desert. The lower elevations provide designated critical habitat for the threatened

desert tortoise The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''), is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexic ...

and other native species, such as

desert bighorn sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The ...

gila monster The Gila monster (''Heloderma suspectum'', ) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is a heavy, typically slow-moving reptile, up to long, and it is the only ve ...

, and

mojave rattlesnake ''Crotalus scutulatus'' (common names: Mojave rattlesnake,Crothier, B.I. ''et al''. 2003. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico: Update. ''Herpetological Review'' 34:196–203 Stebbins ...

. Winters are mild, with temperatures reaching highs from the mid-50s to 60s degrees Fahrenheit. Winter lows are usually in the 40s to high 20s Fahrenheit. Summer highs are commonly over 100 degrees Fahrenheit with lows in the mid-80s Fahrenheit. Flash floods are common in the area when heavy summer

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

thunderstorms dump heavy amounts of rain in short times, causing water to fill washes and gulleys in the area. Most precipitation comes in concentrated storms that are infrequent. Generally, the air is low in humidity and dry. Windy conditions also are common throughout the year. At elevation, Beaver Dam Wash is the lowest point in the state of

References

External links

Map of Beaver Dam Wash NCA in UtahMap of wilderness areas in northwestern Washington County, Utah
{{authority control Lowest points of U.S. states Rivers of Mohave County, Arizona Rivers of Utah Rivers of Washington County, Utah Tributaries of the Colorado River in Arizona Tributaries of the Colorado River in Utah Tributaries of the Lower Colorado River in Arizona Washes of Arizona

See also

References

External links