- elevation 6,535 ft (1,992 m) - elevation 5,407 ft (1,648 m) Mouth Little Colorado River | - location Hunt Valley, Arizona Length 145 km Country United States of America | |
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- location near Black Rock, Zuni Indian Reservation, New Mexico | ||
The Zuni (Zuñi) River is a tributary of the Little Colorado River in the southwestern United States. It has its origin in Cibola County, New Mexico, in the Zuñi Mountains at the Continental Divide. The river flows off the western slopes of the Zuñi Mountains in a generally southwesterly direction through the Zuni Indian Reservation to join the Little Colorado River in eastern Arizona. The Zuni River is approximately 90 miles (140 km) long, and has a drainage basin in New Mexico of approximately 1,300 square miles (3,400 km2).
Contents
Map of Zu%C3%B1i River, Arizona, USA
CourseEdit
The Zuñi River begin about 4.5 miles east-northeast of Black Rock at the confluence of the Rio Pescado and Rio Nutria. It was dammed at Black Rock in 1908 forming the Black Rock Reservoir. The river has a small dam at the Zuni Pueblo. The river is intermittent, drying up during drought periods, and often during most of the winter, except where there are perennial springs that give it surface flow for a short distance.
EnvironmentEdit
The Zuni River is one of the last remaining habitats of the Zuni bluehead sucker.
Religious aspectEdit
The Zuni River is sacred to the Zuni people. Every four years, a religious pilgrimage is made on the "Barefoot Trail" to Kołuwala:wa, also called "Zuni Heaven", at the confluence or the Zuni River and the Little Colorado.