# Shaffer Springs

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaffer_Springs
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{{short description|Water source in Arizona}}
{{use mdy dates|date=March 2024|cs1-dates=ly}}{{use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox spring
| name            = Shaffer Springs
| photo           = Oatman-Hwy-Shaffers-fish-bowl-1 (20709380343).jpg
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| photo_caption   = Shafer Spring and historic Route 66
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| coordinates     = {{coords|35.0386|-114.35662}}
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'''Shaffer Springs''', sometimes called '''Shaffer's Fish Bowl''', is a natural [seep](/source/Seep_(hydrology)) and minor roadside attraction in the [Black Mountains](/source/Black_Mountains_(Arizona)) of Arizona, United States. Located in [Mohave County](/source/Mohave_County%2C_Arizona), alongside the old alignment of [U.S. Route&nbsp;66](/source/U.S._Route_66_in_Arizona) (US&nbsp;66) that runs between [Kingman, Arizona](/source/Kingman%2C_Arizona) and [Oatman](/source/Oatman%2C_Arizona), the water from the seep flows into a manmade basin stocked with domestic goldfish. Shaffer Springs serves a vital water source for wild burros.

== Description and history ==
thumb|'55 Chevy, Route 66 at Shaffer Springs
Shaffer's Fish Bowl is located in Mohave County, Arizona, not far from the California border.<ref>{{gnis|11141}}</ref> The spring is on a stretch of Arizona highway known as the Goldroad because the area was once was a gold [mining district](/source/Mining_district_(North_America)).<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Guide Book to Highway 66 |last=Rittenhouse |first=Jack D. |year=1946 |location=Los Angeles. |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015064566014?urlappend=%3Bseq=112 |access-date=2024-03-09 |via=HathiTrust |pages=107–109 | hdl=2027/mdp.39015064566014?urlappend=%3Bseq=112 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Historical Markers in Arizona |volume=I |year=1958 |publisher=Arizona Development Board |location=Phoenix |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015018021173?urlappend=%3Bseq=205 |access-date=2024-03-09 |via=HathiTrust | hdl=2027/mdp.39015018021173?urlappend=%3Bseq=205 |language=en}}</ref> The Goldroad has "the [steepest grade](/source/Grade_(slope)) on all of [Route 66](/source/U.S._Route_66_in_Arizona)".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Naylor |first=Roger |title=The secrets of Historic Route 66 |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/road-trips/2016/10/07/historic-route-66-hidden-gems/91281370/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |newspaper=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}</ref>

The surrounding area is marked by "[creosote](/source/creosote)-dotted sand flats"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Naylor |first=Roger |title=Arizona Route 66 road trip: Kingman to Oatman |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/2014/11/19/arizona-route-road-trip-kingman-oatman/19296515/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}</ref> until the road makes a steep rise into the [Black Mountains](/source/Black_Mountains_(Arizona)).<ref name=":0" /> Near the spring the road is mostly [hairpin turns](/source/Hairpin_turn) and "steep dropoffs" but the higher elevation has the benefit of offering scenic vistas of the surrounding country.<ref name=":0" />

The history of the spring is as murky as the green-tinted water but most accounts credit the New Deal-era [Civilian Conservation Corps](/source/Civilian_Conservation_Corps) or the [Works Progress Administration](/source/Works_Progress_Administration) for building the basin, which is made of local stone and concrete, and collects water that naturally [seeps](/source/Seep_(hydrology)) out of the cliffside at this point in the mountain range.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Fish Bowl Spring |url=https://divergentrays.com/fishbowl |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=divergentrays.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-10-09 |title=Route 66 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-route-66/142962274/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |work=Arizona Republic |pages=T6}}</ref> According to ''Scenic Driving Arizona'', "Early drivers filled waterbags at the spring, and in the 1950s the state highway department installed a hand-pump drinking fountain, which was removed a few years later."<ref>{{cite book |last=Green |first=Stewart M. |title=Scenic driving Arizona: including the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Sedona, and Saguaro National Park |edition=4th |location=Essex, Connecticut |publisher=Globe Pequot |year=2023 |lccn=2023004949 |isbn=9781493070558 }}</ref> There are hand-cut stairs leading up to the basin; human visitors should be conscious that animal droppings left by wildlife can make the steps slippery and treacherous.<ref>{{Cite web |last=mavgeta2 |date=2018-02-25 |title=Arizona Route 66 |url=https://roadtrippinwithbobandmark.com/arizona-route-66/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=ROADTRIPPINwithBobandMark |language=en-US}}</ref> The red flowers growing along the edge of the water are a [native species](/source/native_species) known as crimson monkeyflower (''[Erythranthe verbenacea](/source/Erythranthe_verbenacea)'').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Finch |first=Bill |date=2021-10-13 |title=Crimson Monkeyflower (Erythranthe verbenacea) |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/98059817 |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=iNaturalist |language=en}}</ref> The bowl is "stocked with goldfish" and/or snails in order to prevent algae growth and keep the water clean.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shaffer Fish Bowl Spring, Golden Valley |url=https://cityseeker.com/golden-valley/1178140-shaffer-fish-bowl-spring |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=cityseeker |language=en}}</ref> The water is used by a population of naturalized [burros](/source/Donkey) that live in and around Oatman.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wild Burros of Oatman, Arizona |url=https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/03/the-wild-burros-of-oatman-arizona.html |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=www.amusingplanet.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Other than the fishies, the main attraction of the stop is the view and the relative solitude. Arizona writer Roger Naylor comments of the site that "The stillness seems palpable. Traffic is thin, a whisper of engine noise that barely dents the expanse and is gone as soon as the vehicle rounds the next bend. I like to hunker here and{{mdash}}as unlikely as it seems while sitting in the [Mojave Desert](/source/Mojave_Desert){{mdash}}watch goldfish swim."<ref name=":0" />

== See also ==
* [U.S. Route 66 in Arizona](/source/U.S._Route_66_in_Arizona)
** [U.S. Route 66 in Arizona § The golden age](/source/U.S._Route_66_in_Arizona)
* [Sitgreaves Pass](/source/Sitgreaves_Pass)
* [Radiator Springs](/source/Radiator_Springs)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

Category:Bodies of water of Mohave County, Arizona
Category:U.S. Route 66 in Arizona

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shaffer Springs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaffer_Springs) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaffer_Springs?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.