San Pedro River (Arizona)
| San Pedro River | |
| Rio San Pedro, Beaver River | |
| stream | |
 Fall colors, San Pedro RNCA
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| Countries | Mexico, United States |
|---|---|
| States | Sonora, Arizona |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Babocomari River |
| - right | Aravaipa Creek |
| Source | The Sierra Manzanal Mountains in northern Sonora |
| - location | North of Cananea, Mexico, Mexico |
| - elevation | 4,460 ft (1,359 m) |
| - coordinates | 31°12′04″N 110°12′28″W / 31.20111°N 110.20778°W |
| Mouth | Confluence with the Gila River |
| - location | Winkelman, Arizona, Pinal County, United States |
| - elevation | 1,919 ft (585 m) |
| - coordinates | 32°59′04″N 110°47′01″W / 32.98444°N 110.78361°WCoordinates: 32°59′04″N 110°47′01″W / 32.98444°N 110.78361°W |
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. 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, free-flowing undammed river in the American Southwest, 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 300 species of migrating birds.
The first people to enter the San Pedro Valley were the Clovis people who hunted mammoth here from 10,000 years ago. The San Pedro Valley has the highest concentration of Clovis sites in North America. Some Clovis sites of note are the Lehner Mammoth-Kill Site, the Murray Springs Clovis Site and the Naco Mammoth-Kill Site.
The hunter-gatherer, Cochise Culture next made this area home between about 5000 to 200 BC. Followed by the more advanced Mogollon, Hohokam and Salado cultures who built permanent homes and engaged in agriculture here. By the time the first Europeans arrived these cultures had disappeared and the San Pedro River was home to the Sobaipuri people.
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Wikipedia