| Zuñi River | |
| Map Size: | 280 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Arizona#USA |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 280 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of the Zuni River in Arizona |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | States |
| Subdivision Name2: | Arizona New Mexico |
| Subdivision Type4: | Counties |
| Subdivision Name4: | Apache, AZ (Cibola, McKinley, Valencia) NM |
| Source1: | confluence of Rio Pescado and Rio Nutria |
| Source1 Location: | near Black Rock, Zuni Indian Reservation, New Mexico |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 35.1106°N -108.7156°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 6535feet[1] |
| Mouth: | Little Colorado River |
| Mouth Location: | Hunt Valley, Arizona |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 34.6456°N -109.6744°W[2] |
| Mouth Elevation: | 5407feet |
| Basin Size: | 1300sqmi |
The Zuni (Zuñi) River is a tributary of the Little Colorado River in the southwestern United States. It has its origin in Cibola County, New Mexico, in the Zuñi Mountains at the Continental Divide. The river flows off the western slopes of the Zuñi Mountains in a generally southwesterly direction through the Zuni Indian Reservation to join the Little Colorado River in eastern Arizona. The Zuni River is approximately 90miles long, and has a drainage basin in New Mexico of approximately 1300sqmi.[3]
The Zuñi River begins about 4.5 miles east-northeast of Black Rock at the confluence of the Rio Pescado and Rio Nutria. It was dammed at Black Rock in 1908 forming the Black Rock Reservoir.[4] [5] The river has a small dam at the Zuni Pueblo.[6] The river is intermittent, drying up during drought periods, and often during most of the winter, except where there are perennial springs that give it surface flow for a short distance.
See main article: Moreno Hill Formation. The Zuni Basin is home to the Moreno Hill Formation where fossils from the later Cretaceous 92 Mya. Fossils include dinosaurs like Zuniceratops and Suskityrannus (Zuni Coelurosaur).[7]
The Zuni River is one of the last remaining habitats of the Zuni bluehead sucker.[8]
The Zuni River is sacred to the Zuni people. Every four years, a religious pilgrimage is made on the "Barefoot Trail" to Kołuwala:wa, also called "Zuni Heaven", at the confluence of the Zuni River and the Little Colorado.[9]
34.6461°N -109.6257°W34.6498°N -109.5007°W34.6617°N -109.3757°W34.7298°N -109.2507°W34.75°N -109.2279°W34.83°N -109.1254°W34.875°N -109.0423°W34.9603°N -109.0006°W35°N -108.9848°W35.0584°N -108.8754°W35.1106°N -108.7156°W