Everything about the Amargosa River totally explained
The
Amargosa River is an intermittent stream, approximately 200 mi (320 km) long, in southern
Nevada and eastern
California in the
United States. It drains a high desert region northwest of
Las Vegas into
Death Valley, where it disappears into the ground. Except for 1) a small portion of its route in the Amargosa Canyon in California, 2) a small portion at Beatty, Nevada, the river flows only after a rare rainstorm washes the region.
Description
It rises in
Nye County, Nevada, along the southern side of
Pahute Mesa in the
Nellis Air Force Range. When carrying water, it flows southwest, crossing the
Sarcobatus Flats and passing the town of
Beatty. At Beatty it turns southeast to flow across the
Amargosa Desert along the east side of the
Funeral Mountains. It crosses into eastern California, along the east side of the
Amargosa Range, passing through the 20 mi (32 km) Amargosa Canyon. It enters the northern
Mojave Desert where it passes west along the southern side of the Amargosa Range, then turns north in a U-shape, flowing along the western side of the range and entering the southern end of Death Valley. It flows northward through the basin to the center of the valley, disappearing into the ground near
Badwater Basin to feed to the
aquifer that's the remnant of prehistoric
Lake Manly. The lower course of the river in Death Valley is within
Death Valley National Park.
The name of the river is
Spanish for "bitter", probably shortened from
agua amargosa, "bitter water". The river is an ancient stream, following an antecedent
canyon. Evidence of human habitation along the river goes back approximately 10,000 years to the end of the last
ice age, when the area was much wetter. In addition to prehistoric Lake Manly in Death Valley, the middle river valley was submerged during the late
Pleistocene by prehistoric
Lake Tecopa. The canyon floor along the Amargosa Range has remnants of indigeneous habitations that are protected by the
Bureau of Land Management. The
Old Spanish Trail followed the course of the river in the
19th century. From
1907 to
1941, the
Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad followed the lower course of the river serving remote Death Valley communities.
The section of the river where it flows perennially is in the Amargosa Canyon along the southeast end of the Amargosa Range near the town of
Shoshone, California. Along a 20 mi (32 km) stretch in the Amargosa Canyon it sustains a small margin of riparian
wetlands in the surrounding desert. The water, as the name suggests, is non-potable by humans but is a critical source of water for the area wildlife in this section.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Amargosa River'.
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