The Gila River, mostly dry today, bears little resemblance to the historic, unruly stream that flowed from the Black Mountain Range in western New Mexico, crossing the Great Divide and then Arizona before completing its 650 miles. journey joining the Colorado River at Yuma. In those days, before the construction of Coolidge Dam in eastern Arizona and a system of irrigation canals commandeered Gila water, boats navigated the river, which varied in width from 150 to 1,200 feet with depths ranging from 2 to 40 feet. Hydrologists calculate that without dams or irrigation canals, the natural flow of the Gila would carry an average of 6,070 cubic feet of water per second into Colorado, the second largest flow behind that of the Green River, which flows through Wyoming and Utah. The Gila River holds an important place in the history of the West as well as the prehistoric West. Artifacts dating back 15,000 years have been discovered in the Gila region. In 1538, the first non-Indian to hike the trail that takes its name from the river was likely Esteban, a black Moorish slave who became a freeman and member of a Spanish expedition. to find the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. After the discovery of gold in California in 1849, thousands of fortune seekers headed west along the Gila Trail. For a time between the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which in 1848 ended the Mexican-American War, and Gadsden's purchase of gold by the United States. land of Mexico in 1853 - the Gila marked part of the American border with Mexico. Throughout Arizona's territorial era and early statehood, the river raged and flooded at will, serving as the setting for countless stories and events, including the federal aid project of the 'Arizona. No. 1. This project extended the besieged Florence Bridge in 1917. The previous year, Congress reflected the nation's quest to build roads and bridges by approving the Federal Highway Aid Act of 1916 and President Woodrow Wilson signed the measure. Quickly, Arizona and Pinal County worked together to raise the funds needed to match the $20,000 in federal aid. The project improved a bridge that remained in use until the late 1950s, when the Arizona Highway Department built a new one. One description of the river's colorful history was recounted in the WPA Guide to 1930s Arizona, published by New Deal's Works Progress. Administration as a means of providing work for writers during the Great Depression.