Lower Colorado River Basin Major Waterways
Shown here are the Colorado River, Little Colorado River, Gila River, Salt River, Verde River, Agua Fria River, Santa Cruz River and San Pedro River. These waterways make up the major river systems in the Lower Colorado River Basin. Before industrial human intervention these water ways created balanced ecosystems for all life they reached. Including, Indigenous nations that inhabited all corners of the Lower Basin since time immemorial. The unimpeded rivers allowed many of these nations to have highly productive agriculture because not only did they have access to water but the rivers carried with them nutrient rich sediments that fertilized the soil.
Ancient Salt River Valley Canal System
The Huhugam, ancestors to the O'otham, engineered and maintained one of the most complex preindustrial canal systems in the world for thousands of years. Crops such as corn, beans, squash, cotton and tobacco were grown in abundance. These canal systems have been the blueprint for modern day infrastructure in the Phoenix Metropolitan area.
This land has a deep history, a lineage of care, and a heritage that stretches back to times immemorial. The Akimel O’otham, or "River People," have always had a profound relationship with the Rio Salado. Their intrinsic value of protection is embedded in their very name. Protectors of the Salt River - Onk Akimel Ha Ñukutham, is a calling that embodies their philosophy. In O’otham culture, leaders were revered as protectors, safeguarding their sacred lands and communities.