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HASSAYAMPA RIVER

River Levels • Streamflow • Hydrology

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Total streamflow across the Hassayampa River was last observed at 2,920 cfs, and is expected to yield approximately 5,792 acre-ft of water today; about 100% of normal. Average streamflow for this time of year is 2,920 cfs, with recent peaks last observed on 2023-03-22 when daily discharge volume was observed at 3,970 cfs.

Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the Hassayampa River Near Arlington reporting a streamflow rate of 5.23 cfs. However, the streamgauge with the highest stage along the river is the Hassayampa River Near Morristown with a gauge stage of 6.55 ft. This river is monitored from 2 different streamgauging stations along the Hassayampa River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 1,854 ft, the Hassayampa River Near Morristown.

The Hassayampa River is a 113-mile-long river in central Arizona that flows through the Sonoran Desert. Historically, it was a major water source for Native Americans and early settlers, but now it primarily serves as an irrigation source for agriculture. The river's flow is highly variable and dependent on monsoon rains. It has been dammed several times to create reservoirs like Lake Pleasant, which provides water for the Phoenix metropolitan area. Recreation activities along the river include hiking, fishing, and kayaking, with several parks and preserves offering access to the river. The Hassayampa River is also an important ecological corridor, providing habitat for rare wildlife species like the southwestern willow flycatcher and the Sonoran Desert toad.

March 6, 2025

Last Updated	2023-03-24
Discharge Volume	5,792 ACRE-FT
Streamflow	2,920.0 cfs -730.0 cfs (-20.0%)
Percent of Normal	100.0%
Maximum	3,970.0 cfs 2023-03-22
Seasonal Avg	2,920 cfs

History of the River

The Hassayampa River (Yavapai: Hasaya:mvo or ʼHasayamcho:) is an intermittent river, the headwaters of which are just south of Prescott, Arizona, United States, and flows mostly south towards Wickenburg entering the Gila River near Hassayampa, Arizona. Although the river has only subsurface flow for much of the year, it has significant perennial flows above ground within the Hassayampa River Canyon Wilderness and the Nature Conservancy's Hassayampa River Preserve, near Wickenburg. The river is about 113 miles (182 km) long, with a watershed of 1,410 square miles (3,700 km2), most of it desert.
A local legend purports that anyone who drinks from the river can never again tell the truth. As an anonymous poet wrote:

Those who drink its waters bright-
Red man, white man, boor or knight,
Girls or women, boys or men-
Never tell the truth againThis lush streamside habitat is home to some of the desert's most spectacular wildlife. Yet many of them have become dangerously imperiled as riparian areas have disappeared from the Arizona landscape.
In the Sonoran Desert, riparian areas nourish cottonwood-willow forests, one of the rarest and most threatened forest types in North America. An estimated 90 percent of these critical wet landscapes have been lost, damaged or degraded in the last century. This loss threatens at least 80 percent of Arizona wildlife, which depend upon riparian habitats for survival.
The Hassayampa River was the location of the 1890 Walnut Grove Dam failure, which led to over 100 fatalities along the river.