Seven Cataracts, Santa Catalina Mountains

For most of the year, this locally-famous drainage is dry, or nearly so. Then, after a lightning-infused and spectacular summer monsoon storm, or a sloppy-wet winter snow and rain storm, and for a few weeks in the very early spring (February-March, maybe April if you are lucky), it becomes a torrent. 

This is when you go out to get the pictures.

Below is a telephoto view, shot two day ago from somewhere down the steep slope below the standard tourist viewpoint along Catalina Highway (9.2 miles up the road from the base of the mountain). For scale, the section you are looking at is about 150 feet high–just a small bit of the 1000+-foot drop of the Seven Cataracts complex visible from the viewpoint.

I have no idea who came up with the original total of seven. It seems pretty arbitrary to me. Depending on the flow and how you count, I think there is a good case for calling it “Fifty Cataracts” just as easily.

Also, don’t confuse this drainage with “Seven Falls“, a popular Sabino Canyon hiking destination some four miles farther down the canyon.

If you are a canyoneer-type adventurer, Seven Cataracts might just be right up your narrow slick-rock alley. For detailed info on this, try THIS LINK.

Seven Cataracts, #7. Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona, 2017