The Cerro Colorado Mountains are a low mountain range in southern Pima County, Arizona, USA. The highest point of the range is Colorado Peak (). The range consists of a NNW–SSE trending ridge with several shorter ridges extending off the main ridge to the ENE. The higher portions of the range cover an area of about , with dimensions of by .''Cerro Colorado, Ariz.,'' 7.5 minute quadrangle, USGS, 1979 The foothills of the Sierrita Mountains lie about to the north with the Batamote Hills and Penitas Hills between to the north and northwest respectively. The

Las Guijas Mountains The Las Guijas Mountains are a small northwest–southeast trending mountain range in southern Pima County, Arizona. The range is approximately long by .''Sells, Arizona-Sonora,'' 30x60 topographic quadrangle, USGS, 1994 Surrounding ranges inclu ...

lie to the southwest. The Sierra Colorado silver mining district lies in the hills between the Sierra Colorados and the Las Guijas ranges. Saucito Mountain at the north end of the Tumacacori Mountains of Santa Cruz County is about southeast. Arivaca Junction in the Santa Cruz River valley lies due east. The

Santa Rita Mountains The Santa Rita Mountains ( O'odham: To:wa Kuswo Doʼag), located about 65 km (40 mi) southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km (26 mi) from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Pat ...

are across the Santa Cruz Valley to the east. The broad

Altar Valley The Altar Valley is a 45-mile (72 km) long north–south valley, trending slightly northeast from Sasabe, Arizona on the Mexico border to the Avra Valley west of the Tucson Mountains. It is delimited by Arizona State Route 86, from east-to-w ...

lies to the west with the

Baboquivari Mountains Baboquivari may refer to: * 2059 Baboquivari, a near-Earth asteroid * Baboquivari Peak Wilderness, a protected area in the U.S. state of Arizona * Baboquivari National Forest Baboquivari National Forest was established as the Baboquivari Forest Re ...

beyond.''Sells, Arizona–Sonora,'' 30x60 minute topographic quadrangle, USGS, 1994 Arivaca Road, which connects Arivaca Junction on the east with

Arivaca Arivaca ( O'odham: Ali Wa:pk) is an unincorporated community in Pima County, Arizona, United States.Arivac ...

to the southwest at the south end of the Las Guijas Mountains, runs through the valley on the southeast of the Cerro Colorados.

Cerro Colorado mine

The Cerro Colorado Mine (Heintzelman Mine; Silver Queen Mine) was discovered around 1750 by Spanish explorers. The mine was in production from 1856 to 1884 and from 1901 to 1937. Early production was by the Sonora Exploration & Mining Company, which was then owned by

Charles Poston Charles Debrille Poston (April 20, 1825 – June 24, 1902) was an American explorer, prospector, author, politician, and civil servant. He is referred to as the "Father of Arizona" due to his efforts lobbying for creation of the territory. ...

and

Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of ...

. Production was some 3,000 tons of ore which averaged about 100 ounces of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

per ton, 0.1 ounces of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

per ton and minor amounts of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

. The highest grade ore on record was over 12,000 ounces of silver per ton, with an average mined grade in 1859 of 770 oz/t; the average since that year is around 225 oz/t. Ore was mined above 350 feet of depth.Cerro Colorado Mine data
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References

{{Mountains of Arizona History of Pima County, Arizona Mining in Arizona Mountain ranges of Arizona Mountain ranges of Pima County, Arizona Silver mines in the United States