Rucker Canyon

Rucker Canyon is a major canyon draining the western central-south of the Chiricahua Mountains, the central landform of the eastern third of

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 ...

's extreme southeast, bordering southwest New Mexico. It is famous for historic Camp Rucker. The canyon contains Rucker Creek, (Rucker Wash), and upstream closer to the headwaters, the small

Rucker Lake Rucker may refer to: People * Rucker (surname) Places United States * Rucker Park, street basketball court in Manhattan, New York City, New York * Rucker, California, an historic district in unincorporated Santa Clara County, California * Rucker, ...

. The wash drains into the southern region of the slightly north-west by due south

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 ...

, east of north–south running U.S. Route 191 and the small communities of Elfrida, McNeal, and Sunizona. The Rucker Wash drains westwards toward the Sulphur Springs Valley and borders the northern small Swisshelm Mountains traversing the named ''Whitewater Draw'' of Rucker Creek. The Rucker Wash is near a

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

. The Swisshelm Mountains are adjacent the southern border of the Sulphur Springs Valley, with Rucker Wash draining north towards the Willcox Playa, and drainage south toward Douglas, Arizona and Mexico Rucker Lake was destroyed by a landslide some years ago and no longer exists. Rucker Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains

Rucker Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains

{{CochiseCountyAZ-geo-stub Chiricahua Mountains Canyons and gorges of Arizona Landforms of Cochise County, Arizona