Sierra Prieta
The Sierra Prieta is a 14 miles (23 km) long[1] mountain range in central-northwest Arizona. The range is the mountainous region west of Prescott, with prominent Thumb Butte, 6,514 feet (1,985 m),[1] a volcanic plug, on the city's west perimeter.
The range is attached to the northwest of the Bradshaw Mountains, and Granite Mountain, a recreation site, as well as a rockclimbing location, is part of the range's northeast section, overlooking Williamson Valley, further northeast.
The Sierra Prieta range is adjacent the northwest perimeter of the Arizona transition zone, mostly known by its perimeter Mogollon Rim.
Description
Sierra Prieta is a mostly northwest by southeast section of mountains. The highest peak in the south is Mount Francis, 7,110 feet (2,167 m),[1] which borders the Bradshaw Mountains; Arizona State Route 89 traverses between the two mountain ranges.
The range highpoint is Granite Mountain, 7,626 feet (2,324 m), anchoring the range's N & NNE; it is separated from the central section by Little Granite Mountain, 7,082 feet (2,159 m) to the southwest, and by Tonto Mountain, 5,631 feet (1,716 m), which is due west. Two other peaks form the range's center, West Spruce Mountain, 7,160 feet (2,182 m), and Williams Peak, 7,055 feet (2,150 m).
Routes
Besides Arizona 89 going southwest from Prescott between the Bradshaw Mountains, County 10 rises to Iron Springs, (Iron Springs Pass) in the range's north. It is often used as a shorter route through the lower elevation Skull Valley during winter snowstorms.
- Northerly view of Thumb Butte, Granite Mountain massif, and S & W Prescott.
(The Sierra Prieta is to the photo-left.)
Notable
The Sierra Prieta range is known in cowboy camps around the world as "The Sierry Petes" a colloquial and period pronunciation of the name made famous in the cowboy poem by the same name but more widely known as "Tyin' A Knot In The Devil's Tail" by Arizonan, Gail Gardner.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Arizona Road & Recreation Atlas, Benchmark Maps, c. 1998, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Gail I. Gardner on Cowboy Poetry website
- Lucchitta, 2001. Hiking Arizona's Geology; Part 2, Arizona Transition Zone, Graphic, w/text, Hikes 18–26. Ivo Lucchitta, c 2001, Mountaineers's Books. 272 pages, 41 Hikes. (Transition zone: Hikes 18–26, p. 143–182.) (softcover, ISBN 0-89886-730-4)
External links
- West Spruce Mountain, summitpost, (coordinates)
- v
- t
- e
(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