San Pedro River (Arizona)

San Pedro River
Rio San Pedro,[1] Beaver River[2]
San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area
January 2010
Map of the Gila River watershed including the San Pedro River
Location
CountryMexico, United States
StateSonora, Arizona
Physical characteristics
SourceThe Sierra Manzanal Mountains in northern Sonora
 • locationNorth of Cananea, Mexico, Mexico
 • coordinates31°12′04″N 110°12′28″W / 31.20111°N 110.20778°W / 31.20111; -110.20778[1]
 • elevation4,460 ft (1,360 m)
MouthConfluence with the Gila River
 • location
Winkelman, Arizona, Pinal County, United States
 • coordinates
32°59′04″N 110°47′01″W / 32.98444°N 110.78361°W / 32.98444; -110.78361[1]
 • elevation
1,919 ft (585 m)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftBabocomari River
 • rightAravaipa Creek

The San Pedro River is a northward-flowing stream originating about 10 miles (16 km) south of the international border south of Sierra Vista, Arizona, in Cananea Municipality, Sonora, Mexico. The river starts at the confluence of other streams (Las Nutrias and El Sauz) just east of Sauceda, Cananea.[3] Within Arizona, the river flows 140 miles (230 km) north through Cochise County, Pima County, Graham County, and Pinal County to its confluence with the Gila River, at Winkelman, Arizona. It is the last major, undammed desert river in the American Southwest,[4] and it is of major ecological importance as it hosts two-thirds of the avian diversity in the United States, including 100 species of breeding birds and almost 300 species of migrating birds.[5]

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Pedro River
  2. ^ David J. Weber (2005). The Taos Trappers: The Fur Trade in the Far Southwest, 1540-1846. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8061-1702-7. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
  3. ^ Nogales, Arizona, 30x60 Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 994
  4. ^ Tony Davis (2011-06-01). "Ruling faults analysis of pumping, San Pedro". Arizona Star. Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  5. ^ "San Pedro River, Arizona". The Nature Conservancy. Archived from the original on 2010-05-01. Retrieved May 31, 2010.