Aztec Pass is a
gap and a
valley between the
Juniper Mountains and
Santa Maria Mountains in
Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
of the pass is at an elevation of 6,232 feet, at the divide between
Muddy Wash on the west and
Walnut Creek on the east. The eastern entrance to the pass is at the mouth of the
valley of Walnut Creek where it emerges from the hills on the west side of Chino Valley at at an elevation of . The western entrance to the pass is at the top of the
valley of
Muddy Wash at the foot of the Juniper Mountains, located at .
History
Aztec Pass was the route of the wagon
toll road, known as the
Hardyville - Prescott Road Hardyville may refer to:
* Hardyville, Arizona, a ghost town in Mohave County, currently within the city limits of Bullhead City
* Hardyville, California, former name of Hardy, California
* Hardyville, Kentucky
Hardyville is a small unincorpor ...
built by
William Harrison Hardy
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
in 1864, from his
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
landing at
Hardyville to new Arizona territorial capital of
Prescott, through the Juniper and Santa Maria Mountains. The western entrance was the location of a campground known as
Oaks and Willows on Muddy Wash. The eastern entrance of the road into the pass was the location of the
Old Toll Gate 6 miles east of the summit. The toll gate was moved 3 miles eastward after Hardy improved the route through the pass.
Camp Hualpai
Camp may refer to:
Outdoor accommodation and recreation
* Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site
* a temporary settlement for nomads
* Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
at was built near that second tollgate along Walnut Creek where the road entered the pass from the south from
Williamson Valley.
[Richard Josiah Hinton, ''The Handbook to Arizona: Its Resources, History, Towns, Mines, Ruins, and Scenery'', Payot, Upham & Company, San Francisco, 1878]
p. xxiv
References
{{reflist
Landforms of Yavapai County, Arizona
Mountain passes of Arizona