Granite Mountain (Arizona)

Granite Mountain
Yavapai: ʼWi:kvte:wa
Highest point
Elevation 7,628 ft (2,325 m)  NAVD 88[1]
Prominence 1,666 ft (508 m) [2]
Coordinates 34°38′16″N 112°33′13″W / 34.637905414°N 112.553481219°W / 34.637905414; -112.553481219Coordinates: 34°38′16″N 112°33′13″W / 34.637905414°N 112.553481219°W / 34.637905414; -112.553481219 [1]
Geography
Granite Mountain
Location Yavapai County, Arizona, U.S.
Parent range Sierra Prieta
Topo map USGS Jerome Canyon
Geology
Age of rock Proterozoic
Mountain type Granite
Climbing
Easiest route rock climb

Granite Mountain (Yavapai: ʼWi:kvte:wa) is a 7,628-foot (2,325 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.[3] Its southwest face has a sheer granite cliff approximately 500 feet (150 m) 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 is managed as a part of the Prescott National Forest. 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.[4]

Geology

Granite Mountain is composed of the Prescott Granodiorite, a 1.7 billion year-old stock 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.[5]

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 periodically closed to rock climbing, typically from February 1 until July 15 each year.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Granite". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  2. ↑ "Granite Mountain, Arizona". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  3. ↑ Lopez, Kathy; Morgan Ranch Park Association Inc. (2011). Williamson Valley Road. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-7385-7987-0.
  4. ↑ 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. ISBN 978-0871566812.
  5. ↑ Maslansky, Steve P. Prescott Area Geological Field Guide, 1999. OCLC 704031900. prepared for Earth Science Week. Copy available at Yavapai College library.
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