Little Colorado River

Little Colorado River
Tółchíʼíkooh (in Navajo)
Colorado Chiquito (in Spanish)
The Little Colorado River carves a deep canyon just above its confluence with the Colorado
Map showing the Little Colorado River basin. The Little Colorado River flows northwest through eastern Arizona to join the Colorado north of Flagstaff.
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesArizona, New Mexico
RegionApache County, Navajo County, Coconino County
Physical characteristics
SourceWest Fork Little Colorado River
 • locationMount Baldy, White Mountains
 • elevation10,000 ft (3,000 m)
2nd sourceEast Fork Little Colorado River
Source confluence 
 • locationGreer
 • coordinates34°00′15″N 109°27′24″W / 34.00417°N 109.45667°W / 34.00417; -109.45667
 • elevation8,359 ft (2,548 m)
MouthColorado River
 • location
Grand Canyon, Coconino County
 • coordinates
36°11′28″N 111°48′14″W / 36.19111°N 111.80389°W / 36.19111; -111.80389
 • elevation
2,700 ft (820 m)
Length338 mi (544 km)[1]
Basin size26,500 sq mi (69,000 km2)
Discharge 
 • average405 cu ft/s (11.5 m3/s)
 • minimum150 cu ft/s (4.2 m3/s)
 • maximum120,000 cu ft/s (3,400 m3/s)
Basin features
River systemColorado River
Tributaries 
 • leftSilver Creek
 • rightZuni River, Puerco River

The Little Colorado River (Hopi: Paayu) is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona,[2] providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about 26,500 square miles (69,000 km2) in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Although it stretches almost 340 miles (550 km),[1] only the headwaters and the lowermost reaches flow year-round. Between St. Johns and Cameron, most of the river is a wide, braided wash, only containing water after heavy snowmelt or flash flooding.

The lower 57.2 miles (92.1 km) is known as the Little Colorado River Gorge[3] and forms one of the largest arms of the Grand Canyon, at over 3,000 feet (910 m) deep where it joins the Colorado near Desert View in Grand Canyon National Park. An overlook of the gorge is a Navajo Nation Tribal Park.

  1. ^ a b "USGS National Atlas Streamer". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Colorado River
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Colorado River Gorge