Four springs in the San Francisco Peaks originate the river; they would not produce enough water to maintain flow if not for the heavy rain and snowfall of the area supplementing the levels in the channel. The main headwaters of the river are the Leroux Springs, located up Snowbowl Road just northwest of the city, with Taylor Spring and Chimney Spring also sourcing it, and most of the south face snowmelt filling the river, too. Edward Fitzgerald Beale and his men, in planning for his wagon road, visited the Leroux Springs on September 12, 1857. He described the spring and the start of the river as such: Leroux's spring is one of transparent sparkling water, and bursts out of the side of the mountain and runs gurgling down for a quarter of a mile, where it loses itself in the valley. To reach it we found it necessary to turn from the course we were steering, and go up into a little mountain glen from which it flows into the valley. Other springs of the river include Antelope/Old Town Spring, by the base of Mars Hill, and San Francisco Spring by the McMillan homestead.