Phoenix Mountains
The Phoenix Mountains are a mountain range located in central Phoenix, Arizona. With the exception of Mummy Mountain, they are part of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. They serve as a municipal park and offer hiking, mountain biking and equestrian trails at a variety of different access points.
Peaks
The major peaks of the Phoenix Mountain complex are:
- Moon Mountain
- Lookout Mountain
- Shadow Mountain
- Shaw Butte
- North Mountain
- Echo Mountain
- Stoney Mountain
- South Mountain
- Piestewa Peak (formerly named Squaw Peak)
- Mummy Mountain
- Camelback Mountain
- Sunnyslope Mountain
Geology
The nearly 1.7 billion year (1.7 Gya) history of the formation of the Phoenix Mountains is defined by distinctive episodes intensive submarine volcanism and orogeny in the Proterozoic, erosion in the Mesozoic, and lastly, Basin and Range development.[2]
Generally speaking, the entire Phoenix Mountain structure is an exposed remnant of northeast-striking Proterozoic low-grade metamorphic rock that is thought to be nearly 12-km thick. The first deposits from 1.7 Gya were in an oceanic volcanic arc setting which gradually changed to sub-aerial volcanic and near-shore deposits. This large section of crust was subjected to long scale crustal shortening during the Mazatzal orogeny which formed isoclinal folds and shear zones. North Mountain and Shaw Butte, which are composed of fine to medium grained greenstone and intruded granodiorite respectively, are the oldest mountain exposures in the area. Moving southeast the mountains become increasingly younger in geologic age. Stoney Mountain is also composed of similar greenstone. The Arizona State Route 51, near Dreamy Draw, exposes rock that has distinctly slaty cleavage or schistosity which is characteristic of gray metasedimentary phyllite. Piestewa Peak is part of a larger synclinal fold of conglomeratic and cross-bedded quartzite and volcaniclastic rocks that extend toward Quartzite Ridge. No geologic record is retained in the Phoenix area regarding what happened between the Proterozoic until the Late Tertiary sedimentary deposits that exist such as the upper portion of Camelback Mountain (which is an Oligocene aged red sandstone). This contact is known as an angular unconformity. The mountains of Lookout Mountain and the Moon Hill areas are formed from thick sequences of basaltic lava and conglomerate. This period of wide-scale volcanism and tectonic activity evidences how active Basin and Range development was roughly 20 million years ago. The Basin and Range extension which pulled the crust in the ancient Phoenix area helped to form the parallel mountain ranges seen throughout the Southwest.[3]
Other features
The mountains contain the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, which includes the Dreamy Draw Recreation Area, Lookout Mountain Preserve, North Mountain Preserve and Piestewa Mountain Park.
The Dreamy Draw Recreation Area is located in the pass between the Stoney/Echo mountain ridge and Piestewa Peak known as Dreamy Draw. The name originated from the neurological effects suffered by miners who worked the area's cinnabar (mercury sulfide) mine.[4] There is a flood prevention dam in the Dreamy Draw area.
Trails
Charles M. Christiansen Memorial Trail
The trail was dedicated in 1986 to Charles Milo Christiansen, the former director of Phoenix Parks and Recreation who led efforts to preserve the Phoenix Mountains. There is a memorial plaque at the western trailhead at Mountain View Park. The trail is 10.7 miles (17.2 km) long and has a total elevation gain of 200', though the elevations at both trailheads are the same. It connects North Mountain Park with Stony Mountain and Piestewa Peak Park.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Phoenix Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 8 February 1980.
- ^ Johnson, Julia K.; Reynolds, Stephen J.; Jones, David A. (2003). "Geologic Map of the Phoenix Mountains, Central Arizona" (PDF). repository.azgs.az.gov. Arizona Geological Survey. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "Phoenix Geology".
- ^ Richard Nilsen, "Lore of Dreamy Draw: Mad Men, Green Men and Lots of Great Hikes", Arizona Republic, December 19, 2008
- ^ John Stanley, "Charles M. Christiansen Memorial Trail", Arizona Republic, June 13, 2006
External links
- Map of mountains in the Phoenix area
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(Yavapai County)
- Boundary Cone
- Fortification Hill
- Mount Wilson
- Mount Union
- Castle Dome
- Carr Peak
- Miller Peak
- Aubrey Peak
- Hualapai Peak
- Lime Peak
- Mae West Peaks
- Four Peaks
- Mount Ord
- East End
- McDowell Peak
- Mount McDowell
- Thompson Peak
- Mount Ballard (Arizona)
- Camelback Mountain
- Mummy Mountain
- Piestewa Peak
- South Mountains
- Sunnyslope Mountain
- Ibex Peak
- Agassiz Peak
- Doyle Peak
- Fremont Peak
- Mount Bigelow
- Mount Lemmon
- Pusch Ridge
- Thimble Peak
- Mount Hopkins
- Mount Wrightson
- Mount Turnbull
- Mistake Peak
- Granite Mountain
- Black Dome
- Sentinel Peak
- Tumamoc Hill
- Apache Peak
- Black Mesa (Navajo County)
- Escudilla Mountain
- Mount Baldy
- Agathla Peak
- Agua Caliente Mountains
- Agua Dulce Mountains
- Antelope Hill
- Aquarius Mountains
- Artillery Mountains
- Atascosa Mountains
- Aubrey Hills
- Baboquivari Peak
- Balakai Mesa
- Beaver Dam Mountains
- Belmont Mountains
- Bill Williams Mountain
- Bitsihuitsos Butte
- Black Hills (Greenlee County)
- Black Mesa (Apache-Navajo Counties)
- Black Mesa (Warm Springs)
- Black Mountain (Maricopa County)
- Black Mountain (Pima County)
- Blackjack Mountains
- Bryan Mountains
- Buckskin Mountain (Arizona-Utah)
- Buckskin Mountains (La Paz County)
- Bush Head
- Cabeza Prieta Mountains
- Canelo Hills
- Carrizo Mountains
- Cerro Colorado Mountains
- Chocolate Mountains
- Copper Mountains
- Coyote Mountains
- Date Creek Mountains
- Dome Rock Mountains
- Dos Cabezas Mountains
- Etoi Ki
- Excalibur
- Galiuro Mountains
- Gavilan Peak
- Gila Bend Mountains
- Gila Mountains (Graham County)
- Gila Mountains (Yuma County)
- Goldfield Mountains
- Grand Wash Cliffs
- Granite Mountains
- Granite Wash Mountains
- Growler Mountains
- Gu Achi Peak
- Guadalupe Mountains
- Harcuvar Mountains
- Harquahala Mountains
- House Mountain
- Hunts Mesa
- Isis Temple
- John the Baptist Mountains
- Juniper Mesa
- Kaibab Plateau
- Kofa Mountains
- Laguna Mountains
- Las Guijas Mountains
- Lime Mountain (Maricopa County}
- Little Harquahala Mountains
- Little Rincon Mountains
- Lukachukai Mountains
- Madrean Sky Islands
- Mescal Mountains
- Mineral Mountains
- Moccasin Mountains
- Mohave Mountains
- Mohawk Mountains
- Mount Trumbull
- Muggins Mountains
- Mustang Mountains
- Navajo Mountain
- The Needles
- New River Mountains
- New Water Mountains
- Newton Butte
- Painted Rock Mountains
- Pajarito Mountains
- Patagonia Mountains
- Peacock Mountains
- Picacho Peak
- Picketpost Mountain
- Pinnacle Peak
- Poachie Range
- Poston Butte
- Rawhide Mountains
- Sacaton Mountains
- San Luis Mountains
- Santa Maria Mountains
- Sevenmile Mountains
- Sierra San Antonio
- Sierra Estrella
- Sierra Madre Occidental
- Sierra Pinta
- Silver Bell Mountains
- Squaw Tits
- Sugarloaf Mountain
- Sunset Mountains
- Swisshelm Mountains
- Tempe Butte
- Temple Butte
- Tinajas Altas Mountains
- Tordillo Mountain
- Tortolita Mountains
- Trigo Mountains
- Tule Mountains
- Tumacacori Mountains
- Virgin Mountains
- Vulcan's Throne
- Vulture Mountains
- Waterman Mountains
- Weaver Mountains
- West Silver Bell Mountains
- White Tank Mountains
- Wickenburg Mountains