Oak Creek (Verde River)
| Oak Creek | ||
 Oak Creek in Oak Creek Canyon |
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| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 32431 | |
| location | Yavapai County , Arizona , USA | |
| River system | Colorado River | |
| Drain over | Verde → Salt → Gila → Colorado → Gulf of California | |
| source | on the Coconino Plateau 34 ° 9 ′ 30 ″ N , 112 ° 24 ′ 56 ″ W |
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| Source height | approx. 2000 m | |
| muzzle | in the Verde River coordinates: 34 ° 9 ′ 16 ″ N , 112 ° 32 ′ 0 ″ W 34 ° 9 ′ 16 ″ N , 112 ° 32 ′ 0 ″ W. |
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| Mouth height | 1050 m | |
| Height difference | approx. 950 m | |
The Oak Creek is a river in Arizona , United States . It is a tributary of the Verde River and is therefore part of the catchment area of the Colorado River . Its source is about 2,000 m above sea level not far south of Flagstaff on the Coconino Plateau, a part of the Colorado Plateau . On its way to the confluence with the Verde River near Cornville (1,050 m), it deepened like a canyon into the layers of the basalt cover of the plateau and the Coconino sandstone and Supai sandstone stored below . Due to the steep slope, it has longer whitewater stretches. There is a lot of volcanic material from the coconino basalt in the rubble. The alluvial forests are formed by Arizona plane trees ( Platanus wrightii ). Arizona cypress trees ( Cupressus arizonica ) stand on the valley slopes .
The city of Sedona is located directly on Oak Creek . The Oak Creek Canyon in the upper reaches of the river above the city is one of the tourist attractions in Coconino County . The valley is accessible through several hiking trails and camping sites. In one section within Slide Rock State Park , the river bed is washed out in the rock in a shape that can be used as a natural water slide. The lower reaches of the river are already in Yavapai County . The range of hills along the river are largely federally owned and designated as part of the Coconino National Forest , a national forest managed by the US Forest Service .
