Gila River

Gila River
Physical characteristics
Mouth	Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona
• elevation	118 ft (36 m)
Length	649 mi (1,044 km)

The Gila /'hilə/ River (O'odham [Pima]: Gila Akimel) is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles (1,044 kilometers) long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.

The Gila River has its source in western New Mexico, in Sierra County on the western slopes of Continental Divide in the Black Range. It flows southwest through the Gila National Forest and the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, then westward into Arizona, past the town of Safford, Arizona, and along the southern slope of the Gila Mountains in Graham County. It emerges from the mountains into the valley southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, where it crosses the Gila River Indian Reservation as an intermittent stream. Well west of Phoenix, the river bends sharply southward, temporarily, along the "Gila Bend Mountains", and then it sharply bends westward again near the town of Gila Bend, Arizona. It flows southwestward through the Gila Mountains in Yuma County, and finally it flows into the Colorado at Yuma, Arizona.

The Gila River and its main tributary, the Salt River, would both be perennial streams carrying large volumes of water, but irrigation and municipal water diversions turn both into usually dry rivers. Below Phoenix to the Colorado River, the Gila is usually either a trickle or completely dry, as is also the lower Salt from Granite Reef Diversion Dam downstream to the Gila, but both rivers can carry large volumes of water following great rain storms. The natural mean flow of the Gila would be 6070 cubic feet per second at its mouth into the Colorado River, second only in volume of Colorado River tributaries to the Green River. The Gila River a long time ago was navigable by boats from its mouth to near the Arizona - New Mexico border. The width varied from 150 to 1,200 feet (370 m) with a depth of two to 40 feet (12 m).

After the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848, the Gila River served as a part of the border between the United States and Mexico until the Gadsden Purchase (1853) soon extended American territory well south of the Gila. The confluence of the Gila with the Colorado river was also used as a reference point for the southern border of California.

The only major dam on the Gila River is Coolidge Dam 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Globe, Arizona, which forms the San Carlos Lake. The Painted Rock Dam crosses the Gila near Gila Bend, although the river is a transient one at that point. A number of minor diversion dams have been built on the river between the Painted Rock Dam and the Coolidge Dam, including the Gillespie Dam which was breeched during a flood in 1993.

The upper Gila River, including the entire length within New Mexico, is a free-flowing one. Recent efforts to allow for damming or otherwise diverting this stretch have met with stiff political resistance, having been named as one of the nation's most endangered rivers due to the threat of damming. New Mexico governor Bill Richardson has promised to block any such attempt during his term, and he has even considered pushing for a statutory prohibition against any such projects on the state's portion of the river.

Gila River downstream from Coolidge Dam

Gila Akimel O'odham

A band of Pima (autonym "Akimel O'odham", river people), the Gila Akimel O'odham (Gila River People), have lived on the banks of the Gila River since before the arrival of Spanish explorers. Popular theory says that the word Gila was derived from a Spanish contraction of Hah-quah-sa-eel, a Yuma Indian word meaning "running water which is salty".

Their traditional way of life (himdagĭ, sometimes rendered in English as Him-dak) was and is centered at the river, which is considered holy. Traditionally, sand from the banks of the river is used as an exfoliant when bathing (often in rainstorms, especially during the monsoon).

In the Gila River Indian Community, the traditional way of life has generally been better preserved than in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Some speculate this may be because the Gila River, a central aspect of the traditional way of life, still flows through the reservation year-round (although at times as an intermittent stream), while the Salt River does not.

Boating Facility Features

Middle Fork of the Gila River, SW New Mexico

• Paved Access
• Gravel Access
• Dirt Access
• Swimming
• Primitive Parking Area
• Camping Allowed

Fish Species

• Largemouth Bass
• Sunfish
• Catfish (Channel)
• Catfish (Flathead)

Variant names

The Gila River has also been known as:

• Akee-mull
• Apache de Gila
• Brazo de Miraflores
• Cina`ahuwipi
• Hah-quah-sa eel
• Hela River
• Jila River
• Rio Azul
• Rio Gila
• Rio de las Balsas
• Rio del Nombre Jesus
• Rio del los Apostoles
• Zila River
• Xila River
• Keli Akimel

See also

Gila River at U.S. 95

• San Francisco River
• San Pedro River
• Santa Cruz River
• Agua Fria River (Arizona)
• List of Arizona rivers
• List of New Mexico rivers
• Gila River War Relocation Center
• Gila monster
• Needle's Eye Wilderness
• Gila and Salt River Meridian

External links

• Arizona Boating Locations Facilities Map
• Arizona Fishing Locations Map
• Where to Fish in Arizona Species Information
• Arizona Lake Levels