The Sonoran Desert is one of the last places you might expect to see water. Well, the Sonoran Desert is full of surprises.
The Salt River pictured above is what we call an exotic river: one that flows from a wetter, high-altitude area and through an arid region.
As you can see, exotic rivers create unique ecosystems along their banks. Deciduous trees, grasses, and a wider range of flora and fauna that you might not see in the open desert thrive, benefitting from the reliable water source.
The most famous examples on our planet are the Nile River in Africa, and the Colorado River here in the Southwest. But the Salt River also qualifies, with its cool waters originating from heavier rainfall — and snowmelt — that accumulates in the high forests of Arizona’s Mogollon Rim.
This water is so important to life in the desert, humans have built four major dams on the Salt River to control its flow.
In summer, the Salt River Project (which manages the dams) releases more water downstream to meet higher demands for irrigation, municipal use, and power generation in the Phoenix area. Then, in the winter months, the flow is slowed to maintain reserves in the upstream reservoirs.
So in this particular photo taken in November 2016, this stretch of the Lower Salt River (below the Stewart Mountain Dam) was just a stagnant pool. It sure was a beautiful scene to photograph — especially with the late-day sunlight and tinges of fall colors — but does not show what the Salt River is like under “natural” conditions.
In fact, the Salt River has not run “wild” since the Roosevelt Dam was built in 1911. Makes me wish I had a time machine to go back and see this river unbridled as it rushed below the cliffs of Goldfield Mountains in its full glory.
Anyway, that’s it for today’s Daily Dose. Enjoy your day.
-Jake
Sign up to get the Daily Dose of the Southwest delivered directly to your email inbox every weekday.
