The Poachie Range is a moderate length
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
and
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
in southeast
Mohave County
Mohave County is in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is Kingman, and the largest city is Lake Havasu City. It is the fifth largest county in the United St ...
,
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 ...
, and the extreme southwest corner of
Yavapai County
Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott.
Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...
; the range also abuts the northeast corner 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. Th ...
. The Poachie Range massif is bordered by the south-flowing
Big Sandy River on its west, and the west-flowing
Santa Maria River on its south; both rivers converge at the Poachie Range's southwest at Alamo Lake in
Alamo Lake State Park.
From Alamo Lake, the (short)
Bill Williams River
The Bill Williams River is a river in west-central Arizona where it, along with one of its tributaries, the Santa Maria River (Arizona), Santa Maria River, form the boundary between Mohave County, Arizona, Mohave County to the north and La Paz C ...
flows due west for 35 mi to meet 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 Bill Williams River is the de facto border between the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
north and northwest; the
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...
is south and southeast. Across the south-flowing Colorado River to the west, is the massif of the
Whipple Mountains
The Whipple Mountains ( Mojave: Avii Kur'utat; Chemehuevi: Wiyaatuʷa̱) are located in eastern San Bernardino County, California. They are directly west of the Colorado River, Parker Dam, and Lake Havasu; south of Needles, California; north of ...
at the northeast of the Sonoran Desert subsection named the
Colorado Desert of southern California and bordered by the Colorado River.
The entire region south of the Poachie Range, and its two mountain ranges bordered westwards, the
Rawhide and
Bill Williams Mountain
Bill Williams Mountain is a peak and lava dome volcano located about west of Flagstaff and south of Williams, Arizona in the Kaibab National Forest. It is named for Old Bill Williams, a scout, guide, and mountain man, who lived in the 1800s. ...
, and bordered on the Bill Williams River northern bank — is the
Maria fold and thrust belt. The thrust belt is a geographic and geologic region at the convergence of these neighboring mountain ranges, rivers, the Alamo Lake, as well as other plains and valleys.
Range description
The Poachie Range is approximately 30 mi long slightly trending northwest by southeast, with no central ridgeline. Instead the range is made up of a central canyon draining southwest. The west-northwest contains a small canyon, and various peaks, three peaks west of the south-flowing Big Sandy River.
Signal, Arizona with only unimproved road access is at the northwest foothills, about 10 mi from
U.S. Route 93.
The east and southeast of the range contains People's Canyon, about 5 mi long, and the west-flowing
Santa Maria River; to the southeast the river borders the northwest of the smaller range, the
Black Mountains.
The highpoint of the range is Arrastra Mountain, , located at .
Arrastra Mountain, topozone
/ref> Arrastra Mountain is at the range center, 3 mi northeast of the 'range ridgeline' and 4 mi southwest of U.S. Route 93 in Arizona
U.S. Route 93 in the state of Arizona is a United States Numbered Highway that begins in Wickenburg and heads north to the Nevada state line at the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.
As part of a proposal by municipal leaders in N ...
(the Joshua Tree Highway
''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca.
This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...
).
Arrastra Mountain Wilderness
The Arrastra Mountain Wilderness
Arrastra Mountain Wilderness is a protected wilderness area centered around the Poachie Range, a northwest–southeast trending mountain range that rises to almost . Established in 1990 under the Arizona Desert Wilderness Act, the area is manage ...
comprises almost 100% of the Poachie Range. Both the Big Sandy and Santa Maria Rivers are mostly contained in the wilderness, as well as People's Canyon in the east.
Access
The entire northeast of the range is accessed from U.S. Route 93, from Wikieup, Arizona
Wikieup is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located on U.S. Route 93 in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is located approximately northwest of Phoenix and southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 census, th ...
and Nothing, Arizona
Nothing is an uninhabited ghost town in eastern Mohave County, Arizona, United States.
History
The locals told travelers it "got named by a bunch of drunks." Nothing has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.
The settlement was ...
.
See also
* Maria fold and thrust belt
References
External links
Arrastra Mountain
USGS Arrastra Mountain SE Quad, Arizona, (coordinates)
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Poachie Range
Mine Information, (coordinates), Tonogold Resources, Inc.Poachie Range, mountainzone
{{Authority control
Arizona transition zone mountain ranges
Mountain ranges of Yavapai County, Arizona
Mountain ranges of La Paz County, Arizona
Mountain ranges of Arizona