The Santa Rita Mountains (
O'odham: To:wa Kuswo Doʼag), located about 65 km (40 mi) southeast of
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
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, extend 42 km (26 mi) from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the
Patagonia Mountains
The Patagonia Mountains are a mountain range within the Coronado National Forest, and in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States.
Geography
The Patagonia Mountains begin near the Mexico border east of Nogales, Arizona. Running north, the ...
, trending northwest by southeast. The highest point in the range, and the highest point in the Tucson area, is
Mount Wrightson, with an elevation of 9,453 feet (2,881 m), The range contains
Madera Canyon, one of the world's premier birding areas. The
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...
's
Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory
The Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is an American astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO); it is their largest field installation outside of their main site in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...
is located on
Mount Hopkins. The range is one of the
Madrean sky islands.
The Santa Rita Mountains are mostly within the
Coronado National Forest. Prior to 1908 they were the principal component of
Santa Rita National Forest, which was combined with other small forest tracts to form Coronado. Much of the range lies within the Mt. Wrightson Wilderness, managed by the Coronado National Forest. The Santa Rita Mountains were severely burned in July 2005 in the Florida Fire.
On the western side of the northern Santa Rita Mountains, a large cliff face of white marble is visible from the Green Valley and Sahuarita areas. This "white scar" reminded early Spanish missionaries of Saint
Rita of Cascia
Rita of Cascia, born Margherita Lotti (1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italian widow and Augustinian nun venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
After Rita's husband died, she joined an Augustinian community of religious sisters, whe ...
(1381-1457), an Italian nun, who is often depicted with a small wound on her forehead. The mountain range was consequently named after her.
Other mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson valley include the
Santa Catalina Mountains, the
Rincon Mountains, the
Tucson Mountains
The Tucson Mountains ( O'odham: Cuk Doʼag) are a minor mountain range west of Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Mountains, including Wasson Peak, are one of four notable mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson Basin. The Santa Catalina Mountains l ...
, and the
Tortolita Mountains.
Rosemont mine
A large
porphyry copper deposit has been identified near the old
Helvetia
Helvetia () is the female national personification of Switzerland, officially ''Confoederatio Helvetica,'' the Swiss Confederation.
The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Swiss fl ...
mining district on the north flank of the range. The proposed Rosemont mine would be an open pit operation located in the Santa Ritas about two miles west of mile marker 44 on
Arizona State Route 83.
Jaguars
The Santa Rita Mountains were the temporary home range of "
El Jefe," an adult male jaguar first identified in 2011. He has not been seen since 2015 and it is presumed that he returned to Mexico, where the nearest breeding population of jaguars is located.
Gallery
See also
*
List of mountain ranges of Arizona
*
Empire Ranch
*
Madera Canyon (Arizona)
Madera Canyon is a canyon in the northwestern face of the Santa Rita Mountains, twenty-five miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona. As part of the Coronado National Forest, Madera Canyon has campsites, picnic areas, and miles of hiking trails. The c ...
*
Battle of Fort Buchanan
*
Larcena Pennington Page
Larcena Pennington Page (January 10, 1837 – March 31, 1913), born Larcena Ann Pennington, was an American pioneer known for surviving a kidnapping by Apache as a young married woman of 23 years old in present-day Arizona. Left for dead and unab ...
References
External links
Mt. Wrightson Wilderness Coronado National ForestFriends of Madera CanyonWhipple Observatory
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of Pima County, Arizona
Mountain ranges of Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Madrean Sky Islands mountain ranges
Coronado National Forest
Geography of Tucson, Arizona
Mountain ranges of Arizona