Santa Clara River (Utah)
Encyclopedia
The Santa Clara River is a 52 miles (83.7 km) river
whose three forks join above Pine Valley
in the Pine Valley Mountains in Washington County, Utah
, United States
. It flows west, then south, then briefly southeast before joining the Virgin River
just south of St. George
. It is southern Utah's largest tributary to the Virgin River.
Archaeological evidence shows that Ancestral Puebloans
(also known as the Virgin Anasazi
) lived in the area from 700 B.C. to A.D. 1200 and that they had developed irrigation for their farmed crops. Their population increased until about A.D. 1200, when all Anasazi populations collapsed. They were replaced by the Southern Paiute, who also farmed along the watercourse.
The first Europeans to see the river were Fathers Escalante and Dominguez on the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition
. Their route became the Old Spanish Trail. When they arrived on the upper Virgin River watershed on October 14, 1776, they encountered Southern Paiute farmers who greeted them with ears of corn. Because the land was verdant, Father Escalante called the area "Dixie."
Early Mormon settler John D. Lee described the Southern Paiutes' farming of the land in 1852, "The Santa Clara River is 1 rod wide and 20 inches pure, clear water-rich bottoms, though narrow, and heavily timbered for the distance of 30 miles. On this stream we saw about 100 acres of land that had been cultivated by the Pintes [sic] Indians, principally in corn and squashes; and judging from the stocks, the conclusion would be that heavy crops are and can be raised in these vallies. This tribe is numerous, and have quite an area of husbandry."
(BLM) and the cities of Ivins
and the Santa Clara
. The SCRR includes 6,500 acres of public lands set aside to protect open space, archaeological and natural sites. It is located in the west central portion of Washington County, directly southwest of the communities of Ivins and Santa Clara and east of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Reservation. Water releases from Gunlock Reservoir
maintain stream flows during the irrigation months, but releases cease during the late fall and winter months.
Along the river's banks, vegetation includes Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), Coyote Willow (Salix exigua), Seep-willow (Baccharis salicifolia), Gooddings willow
(Salix gooddingii), Velvet Ash (Fraxinus velutina), and the exotic Russian willow and Tamarisk (Tamarix ssp.). When overgrazing is prevented, native dense grasses and grass-like vegetation, including cattails and sedges, stabilize the stream banks, collect stream sediment, and slow high velocity stream flows. Quailbush
(Atriplex lentiformis), mesquite
(Nahuatl mizquitl) and rabbit bush grow just outside the riparian zone. Critical habitat for Threatened
and Endangered plant species
including the Dwarf Bear Claw Poppy
(Arctomecon humilis) and the Holmgren’s Milkvetch
(Astragalus holmgreniorum) are also found in the SCRR.
The Mormons noted there were many beaver (Castor canadensis) dams along the Santa Clara River and that these areas were farmed by Southern Paiutes who apparently relied at least partly on the beavers for dam building and maintenance of the water table. As Santa Clara was colonized by the Mormons, they killed the beavers, and with the loss of beaver dams to recharge the water table, the land became increasingly arid. Observing this, Juanita Brooks wrote "at the time the wife of Thales Haskell was shot by a young Indian man, Haskell was away up the creek taking out beaver dams". In addition, loss of the beaver dams after Mormon arrival in the area left storm surges unchecked and probably contributed to a several severe floods that eroded away much of the rich alluvial lands. The historical eyewitness observation of Thomas D. Brown summarizes how aboriginal Paiute farming was interdependent with the beaver dams, "There appears many patches of good wheat land on this stream, across which Beaver dams are built every few rods, & the banks being low, the water overflows much & renders the bottoms good grazing patches".
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
whose three forks join above Pine Valley
Pine Valley, Utah
Pine Valley, Utah is an unincorporated town in Washington County, Utah, United States that lies approximately 45 minutes north of the county seat, St. George. It is located at the head of the Santa Clara River in the Pine Valley Mountains, and was settled in 1859...
in the Pine Valley Mountains in Washington County, Utah
Washington County, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 90,354 people, 29,939 households, and 23,442 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 36,478 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It flows west, then south, then briefly southeast before joining the Virgin River
Virgin River
The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about long. It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the centennial celebration of Zion National Park.-Course:...
just south of St. George
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
. It is southern Utah's largest tributary to the Virgin River.
History
The river was named the Santa Clara by the early travelers of the Old Spanish Trail that followed the river. It was also known as the Tonaquint River, for the Tonaquint Band of Indians who lived near the river's mouth.Archaeological evidence shows that Ancestral Puebloans
Ancient Pueblo Peoples
Ancient Pueblo People or Ancestral Pueblo peoples were an ancient Native American culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the United States, comprising southern Utah, northern Arizona, northwest New Mexico, and southern Colorado...
(also known as the Virgin Anasazi
Virgin Anasazi
The Virgin Anasazi were the westernmost Ancestral Puebloan group in the American Southwest. They occupied the area in and around the Virgin River and Muddy Rivers, the western Colorado Plateau, the Moapa Valley and were bordered to the south by the Colorado River. They occupied areas in present day...
) lived in the area from 700 B.C. to A.D. 1200 and that they had developed irrigation for their farmed crops. Their population increased until about A.D. 1200, when all Anasazi populations collapsed. They were replaced by the Southern Paiute, who also farmed along the watercourse.
The first Europeans to see the river were Fathers Escalante and Dominguez on the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition
Dominguez-Escalante Expedition
The Dominguez-Escalante Expedition was conducted in 1776 to find an overland route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Spanish missions in California...
. Their route became the Old Spanish Trail. When they arrived on the upper Virgin River watershed on October 14, 1776, they encountered Southern Paiute farmers who greeted them with ears of corn. Because the land was verdant, Father Escalante called the area "Dixie."
Early Mormon settler John D. Lee described the Southern Paiutes' farming of the land in 1852, "The Santa Clara River is 1 rod wide and 20 inches pure, clear water-rich bottoms, though narrow, and heavily timbered for the distance of 30 miles. On this stream we saw about 100 acres of land that had been cultivated by the Pintes [sic] Indians, principally in corn and squashes; and judging from the stocks, the conclusion would be that heavy crops are and can be raised in these vallies. This tribe is numerous, and have quite an area of husbandry."
Watershed and Course
The river begins in the Pine Valley Mountains. The lower river includes the Santa Clara River Reserve (SCRR), which was created in 1997 by the Bureau of Land ManagementBureau of Land Management
The 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...
(BLM) and the cities of Ivins
Ivins, Utah
Ivins is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 4,450 at the 2000 census, and it was estimated at 7,205 in 2006. Although Ivins was a town in 2000, it has since been classified as a fifth-class city by state law.-History:...
and the Santa Clara
Santa Clara, Utah
Santa Clara is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 4,630 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9 square miles , of which, 4.9 square miles of it is land and 0.04 square miles of it...
. The SCRR includes 6,500 acres of public lands set aside to protect open space, archaeological and natural sites. It is located in the west central portion of Washington County, directly southwest of the communities of Ivins and Santa Clara and east of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Reservation. Water releases from Gunlock Reservoir
Gunlock State Park
Gunlock State Park is a state park of Utah, USA, adjoining a reservoir. The park is located approximately northwest of St George. The reservoir dam was constructed in 1970 for irrigation water and flood control....
maintain stream flows during the irrigation months, but releases cease during the late fall and winter months.
Ecology
The Santa Clara River Reserve encompasses the entire 1,645 acre Santa Clara/Land Hill Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) which contains prehistoric Anasazi sites and preserves riparian habitat.Along the river's banks, vegetation includes Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), Coyote Willow (Salix exigua), Seep-willow (Baccharis salicifolia), Gooddings willow
Salix gooddingii
Salix gooddingii is a species of willow known by the common name Goodding's willow, or Goodding's black willow. It was named for its collector, Leslie Newton Goodding....
(Salix gooddingii), Velvet Ash (Fraxinus velutina), and the exotic Russian willow and Tamarisk (Tamarix ssp.). When overgrazing is prevented, native dense grasses and grass-like vegetation, including cattails and sedges, stabilize the stream banks, collect stream sediment, and slow high velocity stream flows. Quailbush
Atriplex lentiformis
Atriplex lentiformis is a species of saltbush.-Distribution:...
(Atriplex lentiformis), mesquite
Mesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
(Nahuatl mizquitl) and rabbit bush grow just outside the riparian zone. Critical habitat for Threatened
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
and Endangered plant species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
including the Dwarf Bear Claw Poppy
Arctomecon humilis
Arctomecon humilis is a rare species of poppy called Bearclaw Poppy or Dwarf Bearclaw-poppy. It is endemic to Washington County, Utah, in the United States of America. It is a federally listed endangered species limited to barren, heavily gypsiferous soils in the immediate vicinity of St. George,...
(Arctomecon humilis) and the Holmgren’s Milkvetch
Astragalus holmgreniorum
Astragalus holmgreniorum is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common names Holmgren milkvetch and paradox milkvetch. It is native to a tiny section of desert shrub woodland on the border between Utah and Arizona, in the far northern Mojave Desert. There are six populations remaining...
(Astragalus holmgreniorum) are also found in the SCRR.
The Mormons noted there were many beaver (Castor canadensis) dams along the Santa Clara River and that these areas were farmed by Southern Paiutes who apparently relied at least partly on the beavers for dam building and maintenance of the water table. As Santa Clara was colonized by the Mormons, they killed the beavers, and with the loss of beaver dams to recharge the water table, the land became increasingly arid. Observing this, Juanita Brooks wrote "at the time the wife of Thales Haskell was shot by a young Indian man, Haskell was away up the creek taking out beaver dams". In addition, loss of the beaver dams after Mormon arrival in the area left storm surges unchecked and probably contributed to a several severe floods that eroded away much of the rich alluvial lands. The historical eyewitness observation of Thomas D. Brown summarizes how aboriginal Paiute farming was interdependent with the beaver dams, "There appears many patches of good wheat land on this stream, across which Beaver dams are built every few rods, & the banks being low, the water overflows much & renders the bottoms good grazing patches".