Bill Williams

The Bill Williams River is a short, 36-mile long river flowing east to west through the Buckskin Mountains of westcentral Arizona from Alamo Lake to the Colorado River at Lake Havasu. Bill's sister, the Santa Maria River, flows into Alamo Lake from west of Prescott, or perhaps the river just had a sex-change operation when it reached Alamo Lake. Who knows? Bill's streambed forms the line between La Paz County to the south and Mohave County to the north, straddling the Swansea and Rawhide Mountain Wildernesses on either side. Its flow depends almost entirely upon dam-released water from Alamo Lake, which is primarily fed by the Santa Maria River with occasional monsoon seasonal help from the Big Sandy River, Burro, Trout and Date Creeks. The river has a shallow gradient and slow current with occasional Class I to II rapids that can escalate to Class II to III status in rare high water conditions. The mountainous area surrounding the Bill Williams River is very remote low desert with limited access and no services or signs of civilization to be found. This is a Mojave Desert run just south of Needles, California, where the hottest U.S. temperatures are routinely recorded.

The Bill Williams River, named for an Arizona mountain man who inhabited this area long ago, is a natural wilderness area that is protected from development. Three sections of about 21 miles total are being considered for 'Wild and Scenic' designation. The area is home to a variety of wildlife, birdlife, fishlife and indigenous vegetation. Riverbanks are lined with willow and cottonwood trees. Deer, javelina, ringtail cats, foxes, bighorn sheep, coyotes, turtles, beavers, muskrats, and raccoons may be seen along the river. It is suitable for canoeing, kayaking and rafting, but much of the land adjacent to the river is privately owned ranchland, and trespassing is strongly discouraged. There are only two public access roads below Alamo Dam, the El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline Crossing and SH 95

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