Gila River flows from Mogollon Mountains to Colorado River
We can present both as sourced facts, but need to be careful: chunk:4357 says "starting point was in the Black Range, New Mexico, where the Gila has its source." So we can say "its headwaters are in the Mogollon Mountains and Gila Wilderness [1], but an 1891 account placed its source in the Black Range [3]." That's okay.
Lead sentence: The Gila River, with headwaters in the Mogollon Mountains and Gila Wilderness of New Mexico, flows through southwestern New Mexico and Arizona to the Colorado River [1]. (But that's present tense?
Then lead: "The Gila River rose in the Mogollon Mountains and Gila Wilderness of New Mexico and flowed through southwestern New Mexico and Arizona to the Colorado River [1]. In 1891, two men navigated its entire length from source to mouth, starting in the Black Range where its source was also said to be [3][2]." Then body: "During the February floods of that year, the river rose to three miles wide at Yuma [4]."
LEAD: The Gila River, with headwaters in the Mogollon Mountains and Gila Wilderness of New Mexico, flows through southwestern New Mexico and Arizona to the Colorado River [1]. In 1891, two men navigated its entire length from source to mouth, claiming to be the first to do so by boat; they started in the Black Range, described as the river's source [3][2].
Then body (past-tense narrative continues): That same year, the Gila flooded disastrously, at Yuma spreading three miles wide [4]. During the trip, high February waters overturned the men's boat, but they built another and continued [5]. The river's crooked course made its total length about 800 miles [3].
So I'll write: "The Gila River rose in the Mogollon Mountains and Gila Wilderness of New Mexico and flowed through southwestern New Mexico and Arizona to the Colorado River [1]." That is past but acceptable because it describes historical flow; but it still flows today - this is a bit awkward.
LEAD: The Gila River had its headwaters in the Mogollon Mountains and Gila Wilderness of New Mexico and flowed through southwestern New Mexico and Arizona to the Colorado River [1]. In 1891, two men navigated its 800-mile length from source to mouth, claiming to be the first to do so by boat; they started in the Black Range, which was also described as the river's source [2][3].
Body: That February, floods sent the Gila to a three-mile width at Yuma [4]. The high water overturned the men's boat, but they rebuilt and pressed on [5].
Sources
- River of the Sun: Stories of the Storied Gila (1946) ↗ · detailsClassic natural and human history of the Gila River, from its headwaters in the Mogollon Mountains and Gila Wilderness through southwestern New Mexico and Arizona to the Colorado River. Calvin weaves together geology, ecology, archaeology, …
- Two men arrived here last week who had… (1891)Two men arrived here last week who had accomplished the dangerous feat of navigating the Gila river from source to mouth.
- Silver City Enterprise — 1891 (full OCR, Internet Archive) — 1891-04-24 (1891)ll Brown 15000 majority because Wallace voted the money which gave the world telegraphy. DOWN THE GILA Adventurous Trip of Two Men in a Boat Yuma Times. Two men arrived here last week who had accomplished …
- GILA ON RAMPAGE (1891)GILA ON RAMPAGE The Enterprise learns by grapevine tele- graph that the last flood played sad havoc with Clifton, Work has been suspended by the Any- one and Detroit companies, they having sus- tained serious dam…
- They say the scenery in the canyons of… (1891)They say the scenery in the canyons of the Gila is nearly as grand as the Colorado canyons. They met with no special incident until the high water of the February floods began to come down. Their boat was …