Salt River (Arizona)

Salt River
Lower Salt River, near the Phoenix metropolitan area
Map of the Salt River watershed
Location
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountiesGila & Maricopa
Physical characteristics
SourceConfluence of White and Black Rivers
 • locationWhite Mountains, Arizona
 • coordinates33°44′20″N 110°13′32″W / 33.73889°N 110.22556°W / 33.73889; -110.22556[1]
 • elevation11,400 ft (3,500 m)[2]
MouthGila River
 • location
Phoenix
 • coordinates
33°22′52″N 112°18′47″W / 33.38111°N 112.31306°W / 33.38111; -112.31306[1]
 • elevation
928 ft (283 m)[1]
Length200 mi (320 km)[2]
Basin size13,700 sq mi (35,000 km2)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationUSGS gage 09498500, Salt River near Roosevelt, AZ[4]
 • average879 cu ft/s (24.9 m3/s)[4]
 • minimum59 cu ft/s (1.7 m3/s)
 • maximum143,000 cu ft/s (4,000 m3/s)

The Salt River (Spanish: Río Salado, O'odham [Pima]: Onk Akimel, Yavapai: Hakanyacha or Hakathi:, Maricopa language: Va Shly'ay[5]) is a river in Gila and Maricopa counties in Arizona, United States, that is the largest tributary of the Gila River.[2] The river is about 200 miles (320 km) long.[6] Its drainage basin covers about 13,700 square miles (35,000 km2).[3] The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the 195-mile (314 km) Verde River. The Salt's headwaters tributaries, the Black River and East Fork, increase the river's total length to about 300 miles (480 km). The name Salt River comes from the river's course over large salt deposits shortly after the merging of the White and Black Rivers.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference gnis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c "Salt River Watershed" (PDF). Arizona Department of Water Resources. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions, Subregions, Accounting Units and Cataloging Units". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Water resources data for the United States, Water Year 2009; gage 09498500, Salt River near Roosevelt, AZ" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  5. ^ Antone, Caroline. Piipayk m'iim. Salt River: Oʼodham Piipaash Language Program, 2000.
  6. ^ Calculated with Google Maps and Google Earth
  7. ^ "How did the Salt River get its name?". azcentral. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  8. ^ "Arizona Explained: Origin of Salt River's name". azcentral.com. Retrieved 2018-07-05.