WaterWorks at Arizona Falls - Part 1

You gotta give credit where credit's due. The hearty settlers of the Valley of the Sun had no idea what they were getting into when they came here, but they brought civilization to the desert. Consider, for example, the sturdy fellows who constructed the SRP canal.

First of all somebody had to think that up. Someone had to develop the route for channeling water from where it was to where it wasn't. The Hohokams had built nearly 500 miles of canals during their reign in the Valley, although many of those had fallen into disrepair in the 400 years or so since. But their construction showed the settlers of the 1800's that the concept was valid; it was just a matter of specifics.

Then there were the laborers who actually built the canal. They lacked many of the technological advances that we simply take for granted today. (Like air conditioning) But they hacked through brush and rock and cactus and rattlesnakes with great determination, and brought to the Valley a means for survival in the desert.

Construction was arduous, but went along well until these industrious workers came to the area that is now 56th Street and Indian School Road. There they encountered a bit of an obstacle: a huge wall of solid rock.

Keep in mind, this was 1884; options were limited. They could try to "bust up" the rock with picks and hammers, and haul it off to ... well, to somewhere. That would take a lot of time and a lot of labor. They didn't have dump trucks to haul the detritus away, and where would they take it anyway?

Option B would involve blasting through the rock, but that was dangerous! Blasting today is highly controlled with ignition computer-controlled from a reasonably safe distance. Blasting in 1884 was light the fuse and run!

So these ingenious engineers came up with a third option. An option that offered a speedy resolution and ensured the safety of their workforce. Option C was this: they ignored the wall of rock. "Let the water just fall over it," they might have said. "Gravity will pull it over the cliff. We'll just pick up the canal at the bottom." So they did, creating the Arizona Falls where water plummets 20 feet from the upper canal to the lower.

Soon the falls became a social gathering place. Picnics were popular. Dances were held. (And, undoubtedly, more than one illicit tryst ...) All this in spite of the fact that what is now 56th Street and Indian School was, at that time, eight miles outside of town. You can't get some Valley residents these days to go from Tempe to Scottsdale, even if you offer them a ride in an air-conditioned minivan! But there probably wasn't much else to do for recreation in the Valley in the 1880's, so it was worth the trip for the settlers.

continued in Part 2 ...