Hassayampa – Wickenburg, Arizona 8″ x 10″ oil painting by Tom Haas

This painting was inspired by Western horses and the Hassayampa River Preserve, a riparian nature reserve in Arizona near the historic Town of Wickenburg. The Hassayampa River name came from the Yavapai Indian word hayesamo, meaning “follow the water as far as it goes”. Apache Indians referred to it as the upside-down river because it flows underground most of the way. It comes above ground amid the tall cottonwoods in the Hassayampa River Preserve. History of the area includes early mining activity of the 1800s and discovery of the Vulture Mine in 1863.