Santa Cruz River (Arizona)

Santa Cruz River
The Santa Cruz River near Red Rock.
Countries	United States, Mexico
States	Arizona, Sonora
Basin features
Main source	San Rafael Valley
River mouth	Gila River
Physical characteristics
Length	184 miles (296 km)

The Santa Cruz River (English: "Holy Cross River") is a river in southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. It is approximately 184 miles (296 km) long.

The Santa Cruz has its headwaters in the high intermontane grasslands of the San Rafael Valley to the southeast of Patagonia, Arizona, between the Canelo Hills to the east and the Patagonia Mountains to the west, just north of the international border. It flows southward into Mexico past Santa Cruz, Sonora and turns westward around the south end of the Sierra San Antonio near Miguel Hidalgo (San Lázaro), thence north-northwest to reenter the United States just to the east of Nogales and southwest of Kino Springs. It then continues northward from the international border past the Tumacacori National Historical Park, Tubac, Green Valley, Sahuarita, San Xavier del Bac, Tucson, Marana, and Picacho Peak State Park to the Santa Cruz Flats just to the south of Casa Grande and the Gila River. Between Nogales and Tucson the river valley is flanked by the San Cayetano and Santa Rita Mountains on the east and the Atascosa, Tumacacori, and Sierrita Mountains on the west.