Sonoita Creek
| Sonoita Creek | |
|---|---|
 Sonoita Creek, facing downstream from Salero Road | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Santa Cruz |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Two miles northwest of Sonoita[1] |
| • coordinates | 31°41′36″N 110°41′20″W / 31.69333°N 110.68889°W[2] |
| • elevation | 5000 ft [1] |
| Mouth | |
• location | Santa Cruz River, Rio Rico, Arizona |
• coordinates | 31°27′41″N 110°58′45″W / 31.46139°N 110.97917°W[2] |
• elevation | 3435 ft[2] |
| Length | 31 mi (50 km)[3] |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Colorado River |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Harshaw Creek |
Sonoita Creek is a
San Xavier del Bac downstream, to the north. The Santa Rita Mountains lie to the north and the Canelo Hills, Red Mountain and the Patagonia Mountains lie to the south. Harshaw Creek is a southern tributary which joins the Sonoita near Patagonia. Harshaw Creek drains the area between the Patagonia Mountains to the west and the high San Rafael Valley grasslands to the east. The ghost town of Harshaw
lies within its watershed.
Sonoita Creek contains black bullhead, red shiner, mosquitofish, crayfish, American bullfrogs, largemouth bass, Gila topminnows, speckled dace, longfin dace, Sonora suckers, and desert suckers.[4]
The
Southern Pacific Railroad in Benson, then south to Fairbank (about 13 km or 8 miles west of Tombstone) then west to Sonoita – Patagonia and Rio Rico, then south to Nogales. The railroad was constructed in 1881–82 and was abandoned in five phases between 1927 and 1962. Only 15.74 km (9.78 mi) of track remains in place today, from Rio Rico to Nogales, and is operated by the Union Pacific Railroad
.
-
Riparian forest along Sonoita Creek, southwest of Patagonia Lake -
Sonoita Creek in the summer of 2014 -
A great blue heron walking along Sonoita Creek
See also
- List of Arizona rivers
References
- ^ a b Sonoita, AZ, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1996 (2002 rev)
- ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Sonoita Creek
- ^ "Watershed FAQs: Sonoita Creek". Friends of Sonoita Creek. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2014-12-26.
- ^ https://www.fws.gov/southwest/federal_assistance/pdfs/chapter%2010%20santa%20cruz%20river%20watershed.pdf [bare URL PDF]
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sonoita Creek.