The South Mountains (

O'odham The O'odham peoples, including the Tohono O'odham, the Pima or Akimel O'odham, and the Hia C-ed O'odham, are indigenous Uto-Aztecan peoples of the Sonoran desert in southern and central Arizona and northern Sonora, united by a common herita ...

: ''Muhaḍagĭ Doʼag'',

Yavapai The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...

: ''Wi:ki'tiyeda'', mrc, Vii Kwxas), known locally as simply South Mountain, is a mountain range in 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 south

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. It is on public land managed by the city of Phoenix as

South Mountain Park South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona is the largest municipal park in the United States, and one of the largest urban parks in North America and in the world. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride. Geography and ecology South ...

. Geologically, the South Mountains are thought to be a

metamorphic core complex Metamorphic core complexes are exposures of deep crust exhumed in association with largely amagmatic extension. They form, and are exhumed, through relatively fast transport of middle and lower continental crust to the Earth's surface. During th ...

: evidence of movement of the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

tectonic plates from southwest to northeast and northeast to southwest, pushing up a series of mountain ranges including South Mountain. Other ridges with parallel orientation lie within the basin covered by basin fill sediments. The

structural basin A structural basin is a large-scale structural formation of rock strata formed by tectonic warping of previously flat-lying strata. They are geological depressions, the inverse of domes. Elongated structural basins are also known as synclines. ...

forms the current Phoenix metro area, which appears flat like a lake around mountains that rise over it like islands. The buried ridges are in the same orientation as the South Mountains, about one km high, and about one km apart from peak to peak, perhaps about 15 of them underneath the basin fill. The mountain, along with the nearby

Sierra Estrella The Sierra Estrella ( ood, Komaḍk, mrc, Vii Lyxa, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kchasa) is a mountain range located southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Much of the range falls within the Gila River Indian Reservation, but of BLM land is protected as the Sier ...

, is considered sacred by the

Akimel O'odham The Pima (or Akimel O'odham, also spelled Akimel Oʼotham, "River People," formerly known as ''Pima'') are a group of Native Americans living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona, as well as northwestern Mexico in ...

and the

Kwevkepaya The Yavapai are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographic ...

band of

. The South Mountain Preserve is part of the Phoenix Parks System and is the second largest municipal park in the world. The preserve features recreational facilities such as

ramada Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. As of December 31, 2018, it operates 811 hotels with 114,614 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand. Name The ''Ramada'' name derives from t ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

trails, and

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

facilities. The mountains overlook downtown Phoenix, AZ.

Peaks

The major peaks of the South Mountains are (W to E): * Maricopa Peak (2523 ft) * Goat Hill (2526 ft) * Mount Suppoa (South Mountain, TV Tower Peak), highest point in the mountains at 2690 ft (820 m). Contains numerous radio and television transmitting towers serving the Phoenix area, including those of the ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC network-affiliated stations.

Features

*''Dobbins Lookout'' is the highest point accessible by trail at 2,330 feet (710 meters). *''Alta Ridge'' is the ridge on the eastern end of Maricopa peak. *'' Telegraph Pass'' is the gap between South Mountain to the east and Goat Hill to the West. *''Fat Man's Pass'' is located on the National Trail and is a rock formation. *''

Mystery Castle Mystery Castle is located in the city of Phoenix, Arizona, in the foothills of South Mountain Park. It was built in the 1930s by Boyce Luther Gulley for his daughter Mary Lou Gulley. After learning he had tuberculosis, Gulley moved from Seattle ...

'' is in the foothills on the north side and was built from odd materials and trash around 1930 as a private residence. *There are approximately 20 communications towers on the peak of South Mountain. *There are

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of both

ancient Indian The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ancient India: Ancient India is the Indian subcontinent from prehistoric times to the start of Medieval India, which is typically dated (when the term is still used) to th ...

and more contemporary origin, and there are many

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s carved into the

desert varnish Desert varnish or rock varnish is an orange-yellow to black coating found on exposed rock surfaces in arid environments. Desert varnish is approximately one micrometer thick and exhibits nanometer-scale layering. Rock rust and desert patina are ot ...

on the rocks.

Geography and ecology

A spur plateau of the Salt River Mountains was described by an early survey of the area as the dividing feature of the Salt River valley. There are a variety of flora and fauna within the Salt River Mountains. One of the notable tree species here is the elephant tree, ''

Bursera microphylla ''Bursera microphylla'', known by the common name elephant tree in English or 'torote' in Spanish, is a tree in genus ''Bursera''. It grows into a distinctive sculptural form, with a thickened, water-storing or caudiciform trunk. It is found in ...

''.C. Michael Hogan. 2009 (incomplete reference)

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Elephant Tree: Bursera microphylla'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
* United States Dept. of the Interior. 1883. ''Annual report of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (U.S.)'', Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (U.S.); Washington DC: U.S. G.P.O., 1874-1883.

Line notes

External links

South Mountain Trails - Interactive Map HikeArizona.COM
South Mountain broadcast towers, Phoenix, Arizona

{{Coord, 33, 20, 0, N, 112, 3, 45, W, display=title Mountain ranges of Arizona Mountain ranges of Maricopa County, Arizona