[1] Historically, the Rio Bavispe valley was the scene of many Apache raids and their skirmishes with the Mexican military.

The mainstem of the Bavispe starts in the Sierra Madre Occidental right on the border of Chihuahua, southeast of Huachinera, Sonora, and is formed by the confluence of three rivers at aptly named Três Rios.

This valley trends northward until making a 180 degree curve west around the Sierra del Tigre.

[3] Important threatened or endangered mammals include the Sonoran pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis), Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), jaguar (Panthera onca), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi), and lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae).

A 1999 survey found beaver sign at 14 different sites on the upper Bavispe River mainstem, associated with the presence of cottonwoods (Populus fremontii) and willows (Salix exigua).