Hassayampa River Preserve

Wickenburg Az

JAIL TREE

Located at the Corner of Tegner (US-93) and Wickenburg Way (US-60)
This mesquite tree is over 200 years old and once served as the town jail

Hassayampa River Preserve

Headed to Hassayampa River Preserve outside Wickenburg Az on Thursday Nov. 12 2009 with Mike from Southwest Bikes. A special piece of Arizona’s natural environment is being protected and restored at the Hassayampa River Preserve near Wickenburg Az.

For most of its 100-mile course through the desert, the Hassayampa River flows only underground. But within the preserve its crystal clear waters emerge, flowing above ground throughout the year. This 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.

For All Other Photos Of The Trip

Hassayampa River

The End..