The
Amargosa River is an intermittent waterway, 185 miles (297.7 km) long, in southern
NevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and eastern
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It drains a high desert region, the
Amargosa ValleyThe Amargosa Valley is a Nevada landform east of the Amargosa Range that is the eponym for the town of Amargosa Valley, Nevada. The Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad ran through the valley from 1906 to 1940.-Solar thermal plant:...
in the
Amargosa DesertThe Amargosa Desert is located in Nye County in western Nevada, United States, along the California–Nevada border. It is largely coincident with the geographic Amargosa Valley....
northwest of
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, into the
Mojave DesertThe Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, and finally into
Death ValleyDeath Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
where it disappears into the ground
aquiferAn aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
. Except for a small portion of its route in the Amargosa Canyon in California and a small portion at
Beatty, NevadaBeatty is a census-designated place along the Amargosa River in Nye County in the U.S. state of Nevada. U.S. Route 95 runs through the CDP, which lies between Tonopah, about to the north, and Las Vegas, about to the southeast. State Route 374 connects Beatty to Death Valley National Park, about ...
, the river flows above ground only after a rare rainstorm washes the region. A 26 miles (41.8 km) stretch of the river between
ShoshoneShoshone is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Shoshone is located on the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad east of Epaulet Peak, at an elevation of 1585 feet . The population was 31 at the 2010 census, down from 52 at the 2000 census.The town was founded in 1910...
and
Dumont DunesDumont Dunes is an area of the Mojave Desert containing large sand dunes, located approximately 31 miles north of Baker, California on California State Route 127. Bordered by steep volcanic hills and the slow running Amargosa River, the region is easily recognized from a distance by its distinctive...
is protected as a National Wild and Scenic River. At the south end of Tecopa Valley the
Amargosa River Natural Area protects the
habitat* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
.
Course
Except during
flash floodA flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
s that occur after
cloudburstA cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation, sometimes with hail and thunder, which normally lasts no longer than a few minutes but is capable of creating flood conditions.-Etymology:There are similar names for such events in other languages...
s, most of the course of the Amargosa River is dry on the surface. The flow is generally underground except for stretches near Beatty and near
Tecopa, CaliforniaTecopa is a census-designated place in the Mojave Desert, in Inyo County, California, United States. Tecopa is located south-southeast of Shoshone, at an elevation of . The population was 150 at the 2010 census, up from 99 at the 2000 census.One of Tecopa's popular features is its natural hot...
, in the Amargosa Canyon. In the canyon, the river passes through the
Amargosa River Natural Area, a region of dense greenery and prolific wildlife made possible by the presence of water.
The river rises at about 1200 feet (365.8 m) above
sea levelMean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
in
Nye County, Nevada-National protected areas:* Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Death Valley National Park * Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest * Spring Mountains National Recreation Area -Demographics:...
, along the southern side of
Pahute MesaPahute Mesa is one of four major nuclear test regions within the Nevada Test Site , and is divided into two sections: Area 19 and Area 20...
in the Nellis Air Force Range. Thirsty Canyon Wash enters at the river's source, and when carrying water, the river flows from there southwest into Oasis Valley. Running parallel to
U.S. Route 95U.S. Route 95 is a north–south U.S. highway in the western United States. Unlike many other US highways, it has not seen deletion or replacement on most of its length by an encroaching Interstate highway corridor, due to its mostly rural course...
near the
Bullfrog HillsThe Bullfrog Hills are a small range of mountains in southern Nye County, Nevada. The historic Rhyolite, Nevada, mining district was in the Bullfrog Hills, and the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad crossed the hills to its Rhyolite station via the Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad The Bullfrog, Nevada,...
to the west (right), the river receives Sober-Up Gulch from the right and then Beatty Wash from the left bank. Another 3 miles (4.8 km) or so downstream, the river flows through
Beatty, NevadaBeatty is a census-designated place along the Amargosa River in Nye County in the U.S. state of Nevada. U.S. Route 95 runs through the CDP, which lies between Tonopah, about to the north, and Las Vegas, about to the southeast. State Route 374 connects Beatty to Death Valley National Park, about ...
, and turns south-southeast through the Amargosa Narrows into the
Amargosa DesertThe Amargosa Desert is located in Nye County in western Nevada, United States, along the California–Nevada border. It is largely coincident with the geographic Amargosa Valley....
. At this point,
Bare MountainThe Bare Mountain Range is a mountain range in southern Nye County, Nevada, in the United States. Bare Mountain and Wildcat Peak are the high points of the range.-Range summary:...
lies to the left and the
GrapevineThe Grapevine Mountains are located along the eastern border of California in the United States. The mountain range is about long and lies in a northwest-southeasterly direction along the Nevada-California state line. The range reaches an elevation of at Grapevine Peak, near Phinney Canyon on the...
and
FuneralThe Funeral Mountains are a short, arid mountain range in the United States along the California-Nevada border approximately 100 mi west of Las Vegas. The mountains are considered a subrange of the Amargosa Range that form the eastern wall of Death Valley.The Amargosa Desert lies along the...
Mountains of the
Amargosa RangeThe Amargosa Range is a mountain range in Inyo County, California and Nye County, Nevada. The range runs along most of the eastern side of California's Death Valley, separating it from Nevada's Amargosa Desert...
lie to the right. Downstream of the Narrows, still flowing roughly parallel to Route 95, the river passes Big Dune, which is on the river's left. Shortly thereafter it passes the town of
Amargosa ValleyAmargosa Valley is an unincorporated community in Nye County, in the U.S. state of Nevada.-Description:The community is named for the Amargosa River which flows through the valley from its origination in Nevada to its terminus in Death Valley, California...
on the left, leaves Nevada, and enters
Inyo County, California-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...
. In this stretch, it receives Forty Mile Wash from the left.
Running roughly parallel to
California Route 127State Route 127 is a California state highway that connects Interstate 15 to Nevada State Route 373, passing through Death Valley National Park....
, the river passes through
Death Valley JunctionDeath Valley Junction is a tiny Mojave Desert community in unincorporated Inyo County, California, at the intersection of SR 190 and SR 127, just east of Death Valley National Park. The zip code is 92328, the elevation is , and the population fewer than 20. The city limits sign reports a...
. Shortly thereafter it receives Carson Slough, which drains
Ash Meadows National Wildlife RefugeThe Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is a protected wildlife refuge, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, located west-northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, in southern Nye County...
, from the left. Soon the river passes between the
Resting Spring RangeThe Resting Spring Range is found in the eastern Mojave Desert of California near the Nevada state line in the United States. The range lies in a generally north-south direction to the west of the Nopah Range and southeast of the Amargosa Range and Greenwater Range.The mountains, in Inyo County on...
to the left and the
Greenwater RangeThe Greenwater Range is a mountain range located in the eastern Mojave Desert in Inyo County, California. They are located west of the section of California State Route 127 north of Shoshone, California.-Geography:...
to the right before reaching
ShoshoneShoshone is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Shoshone is located on the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad east of Epaulet Peak, at an elevation of 1585 feet . The population was 31 at the 2010 census, down from 52 at the 2000 census.The town was founded in 1910...
. Below Shoshone, the river continues roughly parallel to Route 127 to
TecopaTecopa is a census-designated place in the Mojave Desert, in Inyo County, California, United States. Tecopa is located south-southeast of Shoshone, at an elevation of . The population was 150 at the 2010 census, up from 99 at the 2000 census.One of Tecopa's popular features is its natural hot...
. Downstream of Tecopa, it passes under the
Old Spanish Trail RoadThe Old Spanish Trail is a historical trade route which connected the northern New Mexico settlements near or in Santa Fe, New Mexico with that of Los Angeles, California and southern California. Approximately long, it ran through areas of high mountains, arid deserts, and deep canyons. It is...
and through the Amargosa Canyon between the
Sperry HillsThe Sperry Hills are a mountain range in San Bernardino County, California....
on the right and the
Dumont HillsThe Dumont Hills are a mountain range in San Bernardino County, California.*Amargosa River...
on the left, enters
San Bernardino County, CaliforniaSan Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
, and flows by
Dumont DunesDumont Dunes is an area of the Mojave Desert containing large sand dunes, located approximately 31 miles north of Baker, California on California State Route 127. Bordered by steep volcanic hills and the slow running Amargosa River, the region is easily recognized from a distance by its distinctive...
in the northern
Mojave DesertThe Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
. Turning west, the river crosses under Route 127 and enters
Death Valley National ParkDeath Valley National Park is a national park in the U.S. states of California and Nevada located east of the Sierra Nevada in the arid Great Basin of the United States. The park protects the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert and contains a diverse desert environment of salt-flats, sand dunes,...
between the south end of the Amargosa Range on the right and the
Avawatz MountainsThe Avawatz Mountains are located in San Bernardino County in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA.-Name:The name "Avawatz" is derived from the Mohave Indian term "Avi-Ahwat", or "red rock".-Geography:...
on the left.
Turning northwest and then north, the river re-enters Inyo County, passing between the
Owlshead MountainsThe Owlshead Mountains are located at the southern end of Death Valley National Park near the border of the Fort Irwin Military Reservation in San Bernardino County, California, USA.-Geography:...
on the left and the
Ibex HillsThe Ibex Hills are a mountain range in Inyo County, California....
on the right and receives Confidence Wash and Rhodes Wash, both from the right.
In this stretch, the river runs roughly parallel to Harry Wade Road and, further north, to
California Route 178State Route 178 is a route that exists in two constructed segments. The gap in between segments is connected by various local roads and State Route 190 through Death Valley National Park....
and West Side Road. The river receives Willow Creek from the right and ends in Badwater Basin, about 282 feet (86 m) below sea level, between the
Black MountainsThe Black Mountains are located in the southeastern part of Inyo County, California, in southeast Death Valley National Park.-Geography:The Black Mountains are essentially a continuation of the Amargosa Range, and lie in a generally north-south direction at the south-southwest end...
on the right and the
Panamint RangeThe Panamint Range is a short rugged fault-block mountain range on the northern edge of the Mojave Desert, in Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, United States.-Geography:...
on the left. Disappearing into the ground, it feeds the
aquiferAn aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
that is the remnant of prehistoric
Lake ManlyLake Manly is a pluvial, former freshwater, endorheic, rift lake that filled the Death Valley basin of Inyo County, California through the Holocene before the area's climate changed to desert. Following its isolation from the Colorado River system, Lake Manly receded by evaporation with Badwater...
.
Discharge
The
United States Geological SurveyThe United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
(USGS) monitors the flow of the Amargosa River at a
gauge stationA stream gauge, stream gage or gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water surface elevation and/or volumetric discharge are generally taken and observations of biota may also be...
near the Old Spanish Trail Road, 0.2 mile (0.321868 km) west of Tecopa. The average flow of the river at this station is 3.8 cuft/s. This is from a drainage area of 3090 square miles (8,003.1 km²), much of which is noncontributing and all of which represents about 60 percent of the total Amargosa River
drainage basinA drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
. The maximum flow recorded there was 10600 cuft/s on August 16, 1983, and the minimum flow was 0 cuft/s on some days in some years.
History
The name of the river comes from the
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
word,
amargo, for "bitter", probably shortened from
agua amargosa, "bitter water". The river is an ancient stream, following an antecedent
canyonA canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
. Evidence of human habitation along the river goes back more than 10,000 years. In addition to prehistoric Lake Manly in Death Valley, the middle river valley was submerged during the late
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
by prehistoric Lake Tecopa.
The canyon floor along the Amargosa Range has remnants of indigenous habitations that are protected by the
Bureau of Land ManagementThe Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
. The
Old Spanish TrailThe Old Spanish Trail is a historical trade route which connected the northern New Mexico settlements near or in Santa Fe, New Mexico with that of Los Angeles, California and southern California. Approximately long, it ran through areas of high mountains, arid deserts, and deep canyons. It is...
followed the course of the river in the 19th century. From 1907 to 1941, the
Tonopah and Tidewater RailroadThe Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, the T&T, was a class II railroad extending through remote reaches of the Mojave Desert from the Santa Fe Railway railhead at Ludlow, California, through Death Valley and Amargosa Valley, terminating at the Mining towns of Tonopah and Goldfield in the Great Basin...
followed the lower course of the river serving remote Death Valley communities.
In March 2009, as part of the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act, a 26 miles (41.8 km) stretch of the river between Shoshone and Dumont Dunes was protected as a Wild and Scenic River.
See also
External links