The Black River is a
river in the
White Mountains of the
U.S. state of
Arizona. It forms south of the town of
Greer and west of the towns of
Nutrioso and
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
. The river flows southwest then northwest to meet the
White River west of
Fort Apache. The merged streams form the
Salt River, a major tributary of the
Gila River
The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of n ...
.
Both the
Salt and
Gila rivers supply water to the
Phoenix metro area
The Phoenix Metropolitan Area – also the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, or Metro Phoenix (known by most locals simply as “the Valley”) – is the largest metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States, centered on the city ...
as well as provides water for farmland and crops around the valley.
James Ohio Pattie
James Ohio Pattie (c. 1804Hafen (1966), p. 232 – c. 1850) was an American frontiersman and author from Kentucky. Between 1824 and 1830, Pattie took part in a series of fur trapping and trading expeditions, traveling through the American West a ...
named the river in 1826 as he explored this area in Arizona's
White Mountains.
Course
From source to
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
, the river flows through
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
,
Greenlee
Greenlee is an American industrial and electrical tool company headquartered in Rockford, Illinois. It was founded in 1862 by brothers Robert and Ralph Greenlee to manufacture their invention, a drill surrounded by four chisel blades, used in ...
,
Graham
Graham and Graeme may refer to:
People
* Graham (given name), an English-language given name
* Graham (surname), an English-language surname
* Graeme (surname), an English-language surname
* Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer
* Clan G ...
,
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
and
Gila counties.
It forms a boundary between Apache and Greenlee counties, then between Apache and Graham counties, and further downstream, between Graham and Navajo counties.
Along its lower reaches, the Black River is the boundary between the
Fort Apache Indian Reservation on the north and the
San Carlos Indian Reservation on the south.
The river also passes near the
Bear Wallow Wilderness
The Bear Wallow Wilderness is an wilderness area in eastern Arizona in the United States. The wilderness, located in the Apache National Forest, is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The area has been severely affected by the Wallow Fire of J ...
, through which flows one of the river's tributaries, Bear Wallow Creek.
Some of the places along the lower river are difficult to reach. Many of the roads in the area are unpaved and unmarked on major maps. The "Black River AZ Map" and "Lower Black River guide book" show more details. Bear encounters are possible along this river.
Indian route 9 crosses the river at Black River Crossing.
Flora and fauna
Rainbow and
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
and
smallmouth bass are among the 13 species of fish found in the Black River.
Major fishes in this river system also include
channel catfish
The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...
,
desert sucker
The desert sucker or Gila Mountain sucker (''Catostomus clarkii''), is a freshwater species of ray-finned fish in the sucker family, endemic to the Great Basin and the Colorado River Basin in the United States. It inhabits rapids and fast-flowi ...
s, and
fathead minnows, among others.
Anodonta californiensis
''Anodonta californiensis'', the California floater, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.
Description
''Anodonta californiensis'' have thin, elliptical shells and can reach a ...
and Anodonta have been found on the north fork at Crosby Crossing.
The East Fork Black River and West Fork Black River, which merge to form the mainstem, have populations of brown trout and
Apache trout. The headwaters tributaries support many aquatic insects, including more than 30 species of
caddisflies. Some of the state's best sports fisheries are found in the Black River watershed.
[Benke and Cushing, p. 519] Special permits are required to fish on either reservation.
Plants in the
riparian zones include several kinds of
willows and
cottonwoods, as well as
alders and
saltcedar
The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...
.
Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
,
muskrat
The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...
s,
great blue heron
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...
s,
mallard
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...
s, and
osprey are among the
vertebrates found in or near the river.
See also
*
List of rivers of Arizona
References
Works cited
* Benke, Arthur C., ed., and Cushing, Colbert E., ed.; Blinn, Dean W. and Poff, N. Leroy (2005). "Chapter 11: Colorado River Basin" in ''Rivers of North America''. Burlington, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. . .
External links
HookedAZ Fishing Community , The Black RiverArizona Boating Locations Facilities MapWhite Mountain Apache Tribe Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation DivisionSan Carlos Apache Tribe Recreation and Wildlife Angler Guide Arizona Fishing Report
{{authority control
White Mountains (Arizona)
Rivers of Arizona
Rivers of Apache County, Arizona
Rivers of Graham County, Arizona
Rivers of Greenlee County, Arizona
Rivers of Navajo County, Arizona
Tributaries of the Salt River (Arizona)