Granite Mountain (Arizona)
Granite Mountain is a 7,626-foot (2,324 m) mountain located in Yavapai County, Arizona that covers roughly 12 square miles (31 km2). It was once known as Mount Gurley for the first governor of the Arizona Territory, John A. Gurley. Its southwest face has a sheer granite cliff approximately 500 feet high that is one of the best locations for rock climbing in the state of Arizona. It is located in the Granite Mountain Wilderness, which itself is in Prescott National Forest. Often lumped in with the Sierra Prieta range, Granite Mountain actually stands by itself, outside of any other range. The mountain stands at the northern end of the Sierra Prietas, and borders Skull Valley on the west, on the northwest by the Santa Maria Mountains, and east by the Williamson Valley.[1]
Geology
Granite Mountain is composed of the Prescott Granodiorite, a 1.7 billion year-old stock (geology) intruded into Yavapai schist. Xenoliths of the schist are commonly found in the granodiorite. The gray granodiorite was a popular building stone in early-day Prescott. It was used to build the Yavapai County Courthouse and in many other older buildings around town, including Fort Whipple. [2]
Ecology
The biotic communities at Granite Mountain range from montane conifer forest and juniper pinyon woodland, to interior chaparral. Granite Mountain is a nesting site for the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), and the climbing area on the south face is closed to rockclimbing, typically from February 1 until July 15 each year.
See also
References
- ^ Annerino, John (1991). Adventuring in Arizona: The Sierra Club Travel Guide to the Grand Canyon State. San Francisco, California: Sierra Club Books. pp. 211–226.
- ^ Prescott Area Geological Field Guide, 1999, prepared for Earth Science Week. Copy available at Yavapai College library.
External links