Is there a river in Phoenix?

It is always interesting to drive through the dry Salt River bed with newcomers to the Phoenix area and point out the river. We tend to forget that the Salt River Valley was an attractive place to settle in the pioneer days because of the lovely river lined with cottonwood trees. It was only after the dams were built and irrigation became prevalent, that the river disappeared entirely. Although, there were times that the water did not reach much past Mesa even in the early days, before the dams. Today, this sight of the river flowing is rare and there are no trees on the banks. In fact, the river has cut a considerably lower channel than existed in the early days. Sometimes, I have to remind myself, that the "mesa" where the city was built, is actually the bank of a very large river.