The Granite Wash Mountains are a short, arid, low elevation mountain range of western-central

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, in the southeast of

La Paz County La Paz County is the 15th county in the U.S. state of Arizona, located in the western part of the state. As of the 2020 census, its population was 16,557, making it the second-least populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Parker. The ...

. The range borders a slightly larger range southeast, the

Little Harquahala Mountains The Little Harquahala Mountains are a small, arid, low-elevation mountain range of western-central Arizona, in the southeast of La Paz County. The range is northwest-by-southeast-trending and is in a region of about thirty landforms, plains, val ...

; both ranges form a section on the same

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

between two desert

wash WASH (or Watsan, WaSH) is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". It is used widely by non-governmental organizations and aid agencies in developing countries. The purposes of providing access to WASH services include achievin ...

es. The washes flow in opposite directions, one northwest to the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

, the other southeast to the

Gila River The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of n ...

Description

The range is northwest-by-southeast trending and is in a region of about thirty landforms, plains, valleys, and mountain ranges, called the Maria fold and thrust belt. The region is in the

Basin and Range Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...

and three mountain ranges are in a parallel, northwest-by-southeast trending

thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that syst ...

belt, with two intervening valleys. The Granite Wash Mountains are attached to the southwest end of the

Harcuvar Mountains The Harcuvar Mountains (Yavapai: Ahakuwa) are a narrow mountain range in western-central Arizona, United States. The range lies just east of the north-south Colorado River, and south of the east-west, west-flowing Bill Williams River, from Alamo ...

, the center range of the 3 basin and range-thrusted mountains. The Granite Wash range is on the same water divide as the Little Harquahala's and at the southwest end of the McMullen Valley; to the east, the range and water divide forces the upland drainage areas of the

Centennial Wash Centennial Wash is an ephemeral dry wash that forms the final watershed of the Gila River in central Arizona – before the river turns south. From the Centennial Wash confluence, the Gila turns south, then southwest to exit Arizona on the Calif ...

to turn from southwest- to southeast-flowing towards the

at the

Gila Bend Mountains The Gila Bend Mountains are a long mountain range of the north-central Sonoran Desert southwest of Phoenix, Arizona and in southwest Maricopa County. The Gila River of New Mexico and Arizona transects the entire state of Arizona, and the water ...

. To the west of the Granite Wash Mountains, the

Bouse Wash Bouse Wash is one of the larger eastern-bank dry washes that enter the Colorado River in the Lower Colorado River Valley. It is located in La Paz County, extreme western Arizona. Geography Bouse Wash is located on the north rim of the La Posa ...

flows northwest to the

, in the

Lower Colorado River Valley The Lower Colorado River Valley (LCRV) is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Gulf of C ...

Maria fold and thrust belt

The three mountain ranges and two valleys bordered to the northeast: *

Buckskin Mountains The Buckskin Mountains is a mountain range in La Paz County, Arizona, United States. The range lies just east of the north–south Colorado River, and borders south of the east–west, west-flowing Bill Williams River. Description The range is ...

Butler Valley (Arizona) Butler Valley is a valley of the Maria fold and thrust belt in western Arizona, USA. It lies east of the Colorado River, and is south of the west-flowing Bill Williams River. Description of valley and region Butler Valley is one of the two valle ...

** McMullen Valley *

Harquahala Mountains The Harquahala Mountains ( Yavapai: ʼHakhe:la) are the highest mountain range in southwestern Arizona, United States and are located southwest of the towns of Aguila and Wenden. The name originated from the Yavapai 'ʼHakhe:la", which means "r ...

Peaks and landforms

The highest elevation in the mountains is Salome Peak at ,Arizona Road & Recreation Atlas, 1998, pp. 72–73. in the range's center.

Granite Wash Pass Granite Wash Pass is a gap between the Granite Wash Mountains and the Little Harquahala Mountains, in La Paz County, Arizona. Granite Wash Pass is located at the southwest end of the Granite Wash Mountains and the northwest end of the Little Ha ...

is located at the northwest end of the southern mountain pair, the Little Harquahala's;

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

is west and Harcuvar, Arizona is east. The pass contains the

Arizona and California Railroad The Arizona and California Railroad is a class III short line railroad that was a subdivision of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF). The ARZC began operations on May 9, 1991, when David Parkinson of the ParkSierra RailGroup purchas ...

line, as well as

U.S. Route 60 in Arizona U.S. Route 60 (US 60) is an east–west United States Highway within Arizona. The highway runs for from a junction with Interstate 10 near Quartzsite to the New Mexico State Line near Springerville. As it crosses the state, US 60 ...

form

Brenda Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in areas ...

Interstate 10 in Arizona In the U.S. state of Arizona, Interstate 10 (I‑10), the major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States Sun Belt, runs east from California, enters Arizona near the town of Ehrenberg and continues through Phoenix and Tucson an ...

, and the route northeast to

Aguila Águila or Aguila is Spanish for "eagle". It may refer to: Places *El Aguila, Valle del Cauca, a town and municipality in Colombia * Aguila, Arizona, United States Ships * Chilean brigantine ''Águila'' (1796), the first ship of the Chilean Navy ...

, then to

Wickenburg Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa and Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,474, up from 6,363 in 2010. History The Wickenburg area, along with much of the Southwest, became part of ...

, on U.S. 93.

Bouse Wash, Centennial Wash

The Granite Wash and

are on the northwest by southeast

between two

es. The

flows northwest to the

;

Centennial Wash (Maricopa County) Centennial Wash is an ephemeral dry wash that forms the final watershed of the Gila River in central Arizona – before the river turns south. From the Centennial Wash confluence, the Gila turns south, then southwest to exit Arizona on the Cal ...

is east and flows southeast to meet the

at the great ''Gila Bend'', adjacent the

References

External links

Granite Wash Mountains, mountainzone
{{Authority control Drainage divides Mountain ranges of the Sonoran Desert Mountain ranges of La Paz County, Arizona Mountain ranges of Arizona