524:) dams along the Santa Clara River and that these areas were farmed by Southern Paiutes who relied at least partly on the beavers for dam building and maintenance of the water table. As Santa Clara was colonized, the colonists 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 colonists' arrival in the area left storm surges unchecked and probably contributed to 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".
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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
365:. When they arrived in 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." Their route here became part of the
405:. The SCRR includes 6,500 acres of public lands set aside to protect open space, and 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
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been cultivated by the Pintes
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 valleys. This tribe is numerous and has quite an area of husbandry."
346:) 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
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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.
473:). 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.
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Pageant in the
Wilderness: the story of the Escalante expedition to the Interior Basin, 1776, including the Diary and itinerary of Father Escalante
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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
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reached the mouth of the river as he descended the Virgin River, he named the Santa Clara River "Rio de las Milpas" (river of the cornfields).
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Juanita Brooks; et al. (Daughters of Utah
Pioneers, Washington County Chapter). "The Southern Indian Mission". In Hazel Bradshaw (ed.).
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697:"Diario que formo yo el ciudando Antonio Armijo, como comandante, para el descubrimiento del camino para el punto de las Californias"
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The river was named Santa Clara by the early travelers of the Old
Spanish Trail that followed the river. It was also known as the
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Registro
Oficial – del Gobierno de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos , Ano 1, Tom. II., Sabado 19 de Junio de 1830, Num. 54
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699:[Diary made by citizen Antonio Armijo as commandant for the discovery of the route to the Californias]
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maintain stream flows during the irrigation months, but releases cease during the late fall and winter months.
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This article is about the Santa Clara River in Utah. For the Santa Clara River in
California, see
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U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data.
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Under Dixie Sun: A History of Washington County by Those Who Loved their Forebears
741:"Historical Memory and Ethnographic Perspectives on the Southern Paiute Homeland"
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U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Santa Clara River
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489:) and rabbit bush grow just outside the riparian zone. Critical habitat for
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Utah place names: a comprehensive guide to the origins of geographic names
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311:. It flows west, then south, then briefly southeast before joining the
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Santa Clara River Reserve Recreation and Open Space Management Plan
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Confluence of the Right, Middle, and Left Forks Santa Clara River
72:
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LeRoy R. Hafen; Antonio Armijo (Nov 1947). "Armijo's Journal".
319:. It is southern Utah's largest tributary to the Virgin River.
647:. Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society. p. 95.
625:(Report). Santa Clara River Reserve Board Members. July 2005
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721:. Bureau of Land Management, U. S. Dept. of the Interior
381:who traveled up it in 1827 called it "Corn Creek."
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739:Richard W. Stoffle; Maria Nieves Zedeño (2001).
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281:Right, Middle, and Left Forks Santa Clara River
669:(1). University of California Press: 87–101.
425:Along the river's banks, vegetation includes
335:of Indians who lived near the river's mouth.
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564:. University of Utah Press. p. 331.
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350:, who also farmed along the watercourse.
772:. Garfield County News. pp. 23–33.
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465:), and the exotic Russian willow and
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338:Archaeological evidence shows that
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812:Rivers of Washington County, Utah
409:Reservation. Water releases from
516:Colonists noted there were many
817:Old Spanish Trail (trade route)
291:is a 52-mile-long (84 km)
513:) are also found in the SCRR.
363:Domínguez–Escalante expedition
221: • coordinates
142: • coordinates
18:Santa Clara River (California)
1:
295:whose three forks join above
111:Physical characteristics
663:Huntington Library Quarterly
260: • elevation
185:6,830 ft (2,080 m)
181: • elevation
23:River in Utah, United States
719:"Santa Clara River Reserve"
208: • location
129: • location
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643:Herbert E. Bolton (1950).
264:2,536 ft (773 m)
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792:Santa Clara River Reserve
707:: 205–206. June 19, 1830.
604:, accessed March 15, 2011
558:John W. Van Cott (1990).
395:Bureau of Land Management
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511:Astragalus holmgreniorum
495:endangered plant species
407:Shivwits Band of Paiutes
397:(BLM) and the cities of
315:just south of downtown
305:Washington County, Utah
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534:List of rivers of Utah
243:37.07306°N 113.58194°W
164:37.37556°N 113.46389°W
499:dwarf bear claw poppy
447:Baccharis salicifolia
301:Pine Valley Mountains
507:Holmgren's milkvetch
479:Atriplex lentiformis
389:Watershed and Course
248:37.07306; -113.58194
199:Confluence with the
169:37.37556; -113.46389
342:(also known as the
340:Ancestral Puebloans
269:Basin features
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46:Ute-Southern Paiute
503:Arctomecon humilis
427:Fremont cottonwood
571:978-0-87480-345-7
522:Castor canadensis
463:Fraxinus velutina
431:Populus fremontii
411:Gunlock Reservoir
371:Old Spanish Trail
289:Santa Clara River
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83:Washington County
29:Santa Clara River
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367:Armijo route
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276:River system
201:Virgin River
443:seep-willow
403:Santa Clara
297:Pine Valley
246: /
234:113°34′55″W
167: /
155:113°27′50″W
105:Pine Valley
97:Santa Clara
34:Native name
801:Categories
751:2011-07-10
725:2011-07-10
629:2011-07-10
540:References
505:) and the
491:threatened
459:velvet ash
331:, for the
317:St. George
231:37°04′23″N
152:37°22′32″N
93:St. George
747:: 229–248
475:Quailbush
359:Dominguez
355:Escalante
212:South of
528:See also
483:mesquite
467:tamarisk
54:Location
683:3816035
417:Ecology
369:of the
361:on the
323:History
299:in the
59:Country
681:
568:
518:beaver
375:Armijo
133:Above
120:Source
89:Cities
79:Region
42:
701:(PDF)
679:JSTOR
623:(PDF)
399:Ivins
293:river
195:Mouth
101:Ivins
69:State
566:ISBN
493:and
401:and
357:and
287:The
73:Utah
671:doi
481:),
457:),
449:),
441:),
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303:in
803::
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