Dragoon Wash, a
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
tributary to the
San Pedro River, in
Cochise County, Arizona
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 ...
. It has its source just southwest of the town of
Dragoon
Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...
. It runs southwesterly to meet the San Pedro River.
History
Dragoon Wash originally appeared on an 1855 Railroad Survey map, with the name ''Quercus Canyon'', named for the oaks that appear along its course. Its valley and stream bed provided the route shortest route between
Dragoon Springs and the San Pedro River, through the
Dragoon Pass between the
Dragoon Mountains and
Little Dragoon Mountains. From the mouth of Dragoon Wash the San Pedro River Crossing was 5 or 6 miles northward on the east bank of the San Pedro River. This route was used by the
San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line,
Butterfield Overland Mail, and subsequent stage lines. The
Butterfield Overland Mail List of Stations from New York Times, October 14 1858, Itinerary of the Route
/ref>
References
{{Rivers and streams of Arizona
Rivers of Cochise County, Arizona
Washes of Arizona