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 Lake.
The range is part of a three-range sequence of mildly ''arc-shaped ranges'', and two ''intermountain range valleys'' in the
Maria fold and thrust belt, a region in western-central
Arizona and southeast
Southern California, with the Colorado River flowing south through the western part of the belt. The fold-and-thrust-belt region contains numerous plains, valleys, and mountain ranges, about 30 landforms in all.
The range is a narrow range about 25 mi long, and 5 mi wide, and trends southwest to northeast. The
McMullen Valley
McMullen is a surname with predominantly Irish origins but also with some Scottish history. It derives from root forenames such as: Maolain, Maelan "Hillock" and Meallain "Pleasant". All of these forenames have over time evolved to the collatera ...
is the southeast border of the range, and is traversed by
U.S. Route 60
U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia.
The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as Pacific Avenue, in the ...
.
Four peaks are found in the range; the highest peak is
Smith Peak (Arizona) Smith Peak may refer to:
* Smith Peak (Antarctica)
* Smith Peaks in Antarctica
* Smith Peak (British Columbia)
* Smith Peak (Arizona)
* Smith Peak (Mariposa County, California) Smith Peak may refer to:
* Smith Peak (Antarctica)
* Smith Peaks in ...
, in the northeast, but not easily accessible by road. In the southwest, is Harcuvar Peak, at ,
Harcuvar Peak, Highpoints, and Prominence Peaks
/ref> accessible by unimproved road, via Cottonwood Pass. Two other peaks lie in the center of the range; one lies adjacent and north of Cunningham Pass, called ECC Peak, at , and further northeast, ECP Peak, at .
In 1990, the Harcuvar Mountains Wilderness became part of the now over 109 million acre National Wilderness Preservation System established by the Wilderness Act of 1964. The Harcuvar Mountains Wilderness is in northeast La Paz County 82 miles northwest of Phoenix, Arizona.
Regional access
One of the more important aspects of the Harcuvar Mountains is the major, and southern access route to Alamo Lake State Park
Alamo Lake State Park is a state park of Arizona, USA, centered on Alamo Lake, a flood control and recreational reservoir. The park is located in western Arizona about north of Wenden. It is accessed via a paved two-lane road off either U.S. ...
approximately upriver on the Bill Williams River. The access road is the southern access to the lake, about 30 miles of unimproved road. It begins at Wenden, Arizona
Wenden is an unincorporated community in La Paz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 728 at the 2010 census, up from 556 in 2000. For statistical purposes the United States Census Bureau has designated Wenden as a census-designated ...
, and immediately climbs through the Harcuvars to ''Cunningham Pass''. Another 24 miles traverses the Butler Valley's northeast, and the flatlands northeast of the Buckskin Mountains.
The entire southeast perimeter of the Harcuvar Mountains borders the McMullen Valley, with U.S Route 80. The series of communities starting at the southwest are Vicksburg, 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 ...
, and Harcuvar, (also located south of a small range, the Granite Wash Mountains), then Salome
Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...
, Wenden, and lastly after a straight stretch, Aguila. At Aquila roads connect either northeast, or east to U.S. Route 93
U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south United States highway, numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Arizona, US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the ...
, the road to Kingman– Phoenix
Three major thrust-faulted ranges
The major mountain ranges that run southeast to northwest in the Maria fold and thrust belt region are, from north to south:
* Buckskin Mountains
** 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 ...
* Harcuvar Mountains
** McMullen Valley
McMullen is a surname with predominantly Irish origins but also with some Scottish history. It derives from root forenames such as: Maolain, Maelan "Hillock" and Meallain "Pleasant". All of these forenames have over time evolved to the collatera ...
* Harquahala Mountains
Some of the thirty landforms in the fold-and-thrust-belt listed in a circular path around these three ranges are: 1. NE, Alamo Lake State Park
Alamo Lake State Park is a state park of Arizona, USA, centered on Alamo Lake, a flood control and recreational reservoir. The park is located in western Arizona about north of Wenden. It is accessed via a paved two-lane road off either U.S. ...
, NE Buckskin Mtns; 2. Access roads from U.S. Route 93
U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south United States highway, numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Arizona, US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the ...
, northwest, dirt, and southwest, Arizona State Route 71 terminating at Aguila, Arizona
200px, Aguila in 2012, looking west on U.S. Route 60
Aguila is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 60, west of Wickenburg and northeast of ...
, at the northeast of the Harquahala's; 3. Southeast of the Harquahalas, three mountain ranges, and the Hassayampa and Harquahala Plains-( Harquahala Valley); 4. The southwest and west perimeter of the three ranges is the Bouse Wash Drainage; the drainage is in the Ranegras Plain, but two small ranges, and the Bouse Hills abut the perimeter as well; 5. The northwest abuts the Cactus Plain and the Cactus Plain Wilderness
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...
; 6. The northwest also has the Buckskin Mountains extending into a ''western section'' at the confluence of the Colorado and Bill Williams Rivers. Buckskin Mountain State Park
Buckskin Mountain State Park is a state park located near Parker, Arizona, US. A second developed area of the park is known as the River Island Unit or River Island State Park. Both park areas have shoreline on the Colorado River and views o ...
is located here. 7. The Bill Williams River downstream from Alamo Lake State Park
Alamo Lake State Park is a state park of Arizona, USA, centered on Alamo Lake, a flood control and recreational reservoir. The park is located in western Arizona about north of Wenden. It is accessed via a paved two-lane road off either U.S. ...
is the northern border of the three ranges, as well as the de facto border of fold-and-thrust-belt. The river is also a dividing line between the Mojave Desert north and northwest, and the Sonoran Desert, south and southeast; in California, the Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna.
Geography and geology
The Colorado De ...
subsection of the Sonoran Desert lies southwest.
See also
* Maria fold and thrust belt
* Bouse Wash
* 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 ...
References
External links
Harcuvar Mountains Wilderness BLM
{{Coord, 33.9416943, -113.5840954, display=title
Mountain ranges of the Sonoran Desert
Mountain ranges of the Lower Colorado River Valley
Mountain ranges of La Paz County, Arizona
Mountain ranges of Yavapai County, Arizona
Mountain ranges of Arizona