The New River Mountains are a small 14-mi (23 km) long mountain range in central Arizona , on the north border of the Phoenix valley; the range is located on the southwest perimeter of the Arizona transition zone . The range is a sub-part of landforms extending south from the Black Hills of Yavapai County . Rivers and canyons border east and west; the south of the range is located in Maricopa County , the location of much of the Phoenix metropolitan area .
6-706: The New River Mountains are part of a region extending southwards from the southeast of the Black Hills of central Arizona. The region contains mesas, hills, and mountain peaks; the region is bordered on the west by the Black Canyon, where the Agua Fria River flows south towards Phoenix, and on the east, canyons where the Verde River also flows south to enter the Phoenix valley. The small sub-range
12-569: Is about 14 mi (23 km) long. Hills are attached south and southeastwards of the New River Mesa on the mountain range's south, and meet the cities at the north of Phoenix, Cave Creek and Carefree . The north of the New River Mountains are attached to two mesas: Squaw Creek Mesa which extends west towards the Black Canyon, and Cooks Mesa which extends east towards West Cedar Mountain. West and East Cedar Mountain lie on
18-938: The Gila River , which also only flows during wet periods of the year. The Central Arizona Water Conservation District of the Central Arizona Project operates the Agua Fria Recharge Project, which is about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the New Waddell Dam . It serves to recharge underground aquifers in this area, and ends at Lake Pleasant, Phoenix. According to the Geographic Names Information System , it has also been known historically as: The Agua Fria River rises about 1.5 miles northeast of Granite Dells, Arizona and then flows south to join
24-456: The range on the west. The cities on I-17, directly west and southwest of the range are Black Canyon City, Rock Springs , New River, and Desert Hills . Agua Fria River The Agua Fria River (Spanish for "cold water") is a 120-mile (190 km) long intermittent stream which flows generally south from 20 miles (32 km) east-northeast of Prescott in the U.S. state of Arizona . Prescott draws much of its municipal water supply from
30-522: The southwest of Tangle Creek, whose outfall lies on the Verde River, and borders the west of the extensive north-south Mazatzal Wilderness . The center of the range is located near Benchmark Mountain, 5,855 feet (1,785 m), and the highpoint of the range is at the range's north, Squaw Mountain, 5,905 feet (1,800 m), located at the east perimeter of Squaw Creek Mesa. The New River Mountains are easily accessed from Interstate 17 which borders
36-640: The upper Agua Fria watershed. The Agua Fria runs through the Agua Fria National Monument . The river then flows through a small canyon called "Black Canyon" into Lake Pleasant , a popular recreation area near Peoria, Arizona . (There is a large " Black Canyon " on the Colorado River along the Arizona– Nevada border.) During rainy weather and at times when water is flowing in the intermittent Agua Fria River, it discharges into
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