Sulphur Springs Valley

Sulphur Springs Valley
Valley
Sulphur Springs Valley and the Chiricahua Mountains.
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Borders on	Dos Cabezas Mountains-NE Chiricahua Mountains-E Dragoon Mountains-W Little Dragoon Mountains-NW Mule Mountains-SW
Communities	Willcox, AZ-N Douglas, AZ–Agua Prieta-S
Playa	Willcox Playa
Length	65 mi (105 km), N-NW x S
Width	25 mi (40 km)

The Sulphur Springs Valley is a major valley in the eastern half of Cochise County, Arizona. The valley covers an approximated vertical rectangle west of the Chiricahua Mountains–Dos Cabezas Mountains complex. The Sulphur Springs Valley is the large flatland to the west.

Drainage is from north to south, with a moderately sized endorheic basin, named the Willcox Playa, occupying the northern area. The southern portion of the valley drains into Mexico through Douglas, Arizona through Agua Prieta, Sonora, and into the Yaqui River.

During plentiful rain the mountain foothills contain plentiful grasslands. The region is otherwise an arid part of the northeastern Sonoran Desert, influenced by the Chihuahuan Desert just southeast in New Mexico and northwest Chihuahua.

The highest mountain areas of this southeast Arizona section contains Madrean Sky Islands of mountain sky islands. Sulphur Springs Valley is one of the largest and driest subsections in this otherwise mountainous region. From north to south at the west of the valley are the Little Dragoon Mountains, the Dragoons, and the Mule Mountains. The south end of Sulphur Springs Valley also has three small ranges associated with the southern Chiricahua Mountains, the Swisshelm, Pedregosa, and Perella Mountains.