27px, we want 27. Please register or login . The highway descends 2,000 feet of switchbacks, crosses a bridge and ascends the opposite side of the canyon. This 22-mile segment was considered for Wild and Scenic designation, but designation was denied primarily because water development interests were powerful.
Phoenix gets the water, and sometimes drains the river dry.
Within the area elevations range from 2,200 feet at the canyon's lower end to 4,200 feet on White Ledge Mountain. Over 200 species of wildlife have been identified in the riparian zone. This is rugged terrain and land access is extremely difficult, and there are no maintained trails. Most of the human visitors, skilled whitewater navigators, go down the Salt River in raft or kayak during the short and dangerous river-running season from March 1 to May 15. Fall to spring.