Gila Mountains (Yuma County)

Gila Mountains
west flank of range-(~8-mi east) (viewed from east Yuma agriculture fields, note constant elevation-ridgeline, north range terminus)
Highest point
Peak	Sheep Mountain
Elevation	3,156 ft (962 m)
Coordinates	32°34′30″N 114°18′36″W / 32.5750511°N 114.3099422°W / 32.5750511; -114.3099422
Dimensions
Length	26 mi (42 km) – NW x SE
Width	5 mi (8.0 km)
Geography
Gila Mountains Gila Mountains (Yuma County) in Arizona
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Regions	Yuma Desert, Lechuguilla Desert, Lower Colorado River Valley and Sonoran Desert
County	Yuma
Communities	Yuma, Fortuna Foothills, Dome, Ligurta and Wellton
Borders on	Fortuna Foothills, Yuma, Laguna Mountains, Gila River, Dome Valley, Lechuguilla Desert, Copper Mountains, Tinajas Altas Mountains and Yuma Desert

The Gila Mountains of Yuma County are a 26-mile (42 km) long^[1]^[2] mountain range in southwestern Arizona in the northwest Sonoran Desert.

The Gila Mountains of Yuma County are a northwest-southeast trending mountain system. The fault-blocked mountain range is attached on the south to the Tinajas Altas Mountains which continue southeast into Sonora, Mexico for another 30 miles. The northwest end of the mountains border the southeast Laguna Mountains. The Gila River flows through the Gila Valley between the Gilas and the Lagunas prior to its confluence with the Colorado.

The Gila Mountains are southeast of the confluence of the Colorado and Gila rivers in the Lower Colorado River Valley. The Gila River flows northwest, north around the mountain's north end, then west six miles to the Colorado. On the northeast side of the Gila Range, the low-elevation basin, Dome Valley is created between the Muggins Mountains and the Muggins Mountains Wilderness to the northeast. The block faulted mountain series ends at this confluence location and the Muggins Mountains are at the southern and southwest end of an extensive plain that transitions north towards the Castle Dome Plain and Castle Dome Mountains. This plain is the location of the US Army Yuma Proving Ground on this east-west alluvial plain.

The highest peak in the arid and rugged Gila Mountains is Sheep Peak at 3,156 feet (962 m). The mountain range lies east of Yuma and the community of Fortuna Foothills lies on the northwest mountain range foothills, (named for the Fortuna Mine). The mountain range is located in the western portion of the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range which is used by the MCAS, the Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma.

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Ecology

A variety of flora and fauna are represented in the Gila Mountains. Trees include Dalea spinosa^[3] and Bursera microphylla.^[4]

Interstate 8

One of the oldest sections of the Interstate Highway System in the US goes through a two-tiered highway section through Telegraph Pass at the north end of the range. The Interstate 8 roadcuts in the area of Telegraph Pass expose some of the oldest metamorphic rocks in the state of Arizona, outside of rocks exposed at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Mountain acquisition controversy

A recent controversy involves acquisition of parts of the Gila Mountains by the city of Yuma, Arizona. The controversy is protection versus land use by agencies. The mountains are presently in the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range.

Notes

^ Arizona DeLorme Atlas, p. 62.
^ Arizona Road & Recreation Atlas, pp. 44-45.
^ Charles Sprague Sargent. 1885
^ C. Michael Hogan. 2009

References

Arizona Road & Recreation Atlas, Benchmark Maps, 2nd Edition, c. 1998, 112 pages, pp. 44–45, 78-79.
Arizona DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, 5th Edition, c. 2002, 76 pages, p. 62.
C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Elephant Tree: Bursera microphylla, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
Charles Sprague Sargent. 1885. The woods of the United States, page 26, American Museum of Natural History, 203 pages

v t e Mountains of Arizona
Black Hills (Yavapai County)	Mingus Mountain
Black Mountains	Boundary Cone Fortification Hill Mount Wilson
Bradshaw Mountains	Mount Union
Castle Dome Mountains	Castle Dome
Cerbat Mountains	Mount Tipton
Chiricahua Mountains	Chiricahua Peak
Chuska Mountains	Roof Butte
Dragoon Mountains	Mount Glenn
Hieroglyphic Mountains	White Picacho
Huachuca Mountains	Carr Peak Miller Peak
Hualapai Mountains	Aubrey Peak Hualapai Peak
Little Ajo Mountains	Ajo Peak
Little Dragoon Mountains	Lime Peak Mae West Peaks
Mazatzal Mountains	Four Peaks Mount Ord
McDowell Mountains	East End McDowell Peak Mount McDowell Thompson Peak
Mule Mountains	Mount Ballard
Phoenix Mountains	Camelback Mountain Mummy Mountain Piestewa Peak South Mountains Sunnyslope Mountain
Pinal Mountains	Pinal Peak
Pinaleño Mountains	Mount Graham
Plomosa Mountains	Ibex Peak
Quinlan Mountains	Kitt Peak
Rincon Mountains	Mica Mountain
San Francisco Peaks	Agassiz Peak Doyle Peak Fremont Peak
San Francisco Volcanic Field	Black Bottom Crater Double Crater Humphreys Peak Kendrick Peak Mount Elden O'Leary Peak Roden Crater S P Crater Strawberry Crater Sunset Crater
Santa Catalina Mountains	Mount Bigelow Mount Lemmon Pusch Ridge Thimble Peak
Santa Rita Mountains	Mount Hopkins Mount Wrightson
Santa Teresa Mountains	Mount Turnbull
Sierra Ancha	Mistake Peak
Sierra Prieta	Granite Mountain
Superstition Mountains	Superstition Mountain Weavers Needle
Tank Mountains	Black Dome
Tucson Mountains	Sentinel Peak Tumamoc Hill
Whetstone Mountains	Apache Peak
White Mountains	Black Mesa (Navajo County) Escudilla Mountain Mount Baldy
Others	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

This page was last edited on 25 October 2021, at 21:53

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