The Santa Catalina Mountains, commonly referred to as the Catalina Mountains or the Catalinas, are north and northeast of

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

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 ...

, United States, on Tucson's north perimeter. The mountain range is the most prominent in the

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

area, with the highest average elevation. The highest point in the Catalinas is

Mount Lemmon Mount Lemmon, with a summit elevation of , is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Mount Lemmon was named for botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon, who ...

at an elevation of above sea level and receives of precipitation annually. Originally known by the Tohono O'odham Nation as Babad Do'ag, the Catalinas were later named in 1697 by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Eusebio Francisco Kino Eusebio Francisco Kino ( it, Eusebio Francesco Chini, es, Eusebio Francisco Kino; 10 August 1645 – 15 March 1711), often referred to as Father Kino, was a Tyrolean Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer and astronomer born in ...

in honor of St. Catherine who was the patron saint of Kino's oldest sister. The Catalinas are part of the

Santa Catalina Ranger District The Coronado National Forest is a United States National Forest that includes an area of about 1.78 million acres (7,200 km2) spread throughout mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. It is located in parts of C ...

located in the

Coronado National Forest The Coronado National Forest is a United States National Forest that includes an area of about 1.78 million acres (7,200 km2) spread throughout mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. It is located in parts of ...

, and also include the

Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area is a 56,430 acre (228.36 km2) wilderness area. It is located within the Coronado National Forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Established in 1978, the area varies great ...

. The mountain range is considered a prominent range in the

Madrean sky islands The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine–oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are s ...

, and partially delimits the mountain ranges in the northwest of the

sky island Sky islands are topographic isolation, isolated mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. The term originally referred to those found on the Mexican Plateau, and has extended to similarly isolated montane ecosystems, hi ...

region; lower elevation bajadas associated with the Santa Cruz River Valley spread northwestwards towards

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Catalina Sky Survey Catalina Sky Survey (CSS; obs. code: 703) is an astronomical survey to discover comets and asteroids. It is conducted at the Steward Observatory's Catalina Station, located near Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. CSS focuses on the search ...

(CSS), on Mt. Lemmon, is a project to discover

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...

s and

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

s, and to search for

near-Earth object A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). ...

s (NEOs). More specifically, CSS is to search for any

potentially hazardous asteroid A potentially hazardous object (PHO) is a near-Earth object – either an asteroid or a comet – with an orbit that can make close approaches to the Earth and is large enough to cause significant regional damage in the event of impact. They are ...

s that may pose a threat of

impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impac ...

. Its southern hemisphere counterpart, the

Siding Spring Survey The Siding Spring Survey (SSS) was a near-Earth object search program that used the 0.5-metre Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia. It was the southern hemisphere counterpart of the Catali ...

(SSS) was closed in 2013. The Catalinas are a significant focus of recreational activity, with areas such as

Sabino Canyon Sabino Canyon is a significant canyon located in the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Sabino Canyon is a popular recreation area for residents and visitors of Southern Arizona, p ...

providing streams and perennial pools for visitors, by road access; Sabino Canyon is also a dayhiking access point.

Catalina State Park Catalina State Park is located at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is home to nearly 5,000 saguaros and desert plants. There are 5,500 acres of foothills and canyons that offer opportunities for camping, hiking, and bird watching. Th ...

in the western foothills of the Catalinas attracts visitors for its hiking opportunities and permanent pools in Romero Canyon. The village of

Summerhaven Summerhaven is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson in Pima County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a permanent population of ...

on Mount Lemmon serves as a popular summer retreat from the heat of Arizona's lower deserts. Mount Lemmon Ski Valley is also notable as it is the southernmost

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

destination in the United States. Other mountain ranges surrounding the Santa Cruz Valley include the

Santa Rita Mountains The Santa Rita Mountains (O'odham language, O'odham: To:wa Kuswo Doʼag), located about 65 km (40 mi) southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km (26 mi) from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastw ...

, the

Rincon Mountains The Rincon Mountains (O'odham: Cew Doʼag) are a significant mountain range east of Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, in the United States. The Rincon Mountains are one of five mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson valley. The other ranges include ...

, 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 lie ...

, and the

Tortolita Mountains The Tortolita Mountains are a modest mountain range northwest of Tucson, Arizona, USA, at the northern boundaries of Oro Valley and Marana, two suburbs of Tucson. Peak elevation is 4,696 feet (1,431 m). Much of the mountain range is protected w ...

Name

The Catalinas were originally named the "Sierra de la Santa Catarina" as depicted on a German map from 1875 or "Santa Catrina Mountains" as in a prior map dating back to 1864. A successive map from 1890 still referred to the Catalinas as the "Santa Catarina Mountains." However, a map from 1895 depicted the range with the name "Santa Catalina." Various maps during the 1880s and 1890s referred to the range as either "Santa Catarina" or "Santa Catalina." However, by 1902 the range was officially designated the "Santa Catalina Mountains," as the

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

established the Santa Catalina Forest Reserve that year, encompassing 155,520 acres (later to become the

Santa Catalina National Forest Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

.) As such, the name of the range apparently morphed into the current "Santa Catalina Mountains" sometime between 1890 and 1902, but each previous version of the name always referred to the namesake St. Catherine.

National Forest

Following the

Gadsden Purchase The Gadsden Purchase ( es, region=MX, la Venta de La Mesilla "The Sale of La Mesilla") is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effe ...

, Americans increasingly moved into the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

and focused on the Catalinas in search of gold, silver, and copper beginning in the 1850s. By the late 1880s, residents of southern Arizona desired protection for the Catalinas, and the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

authorized the President to designate specific lands around the U.S. to be removed from the public domain under the

Forest Reserve Act of 1891 The General Revision Act (sometimes Land Revision Act) of 1891, also known as the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, was a federal law signed in 1891 by President Benjamin Harrison. The Act reversed previous policy initiatives, such as the Timber Culture ...

. As mentioned above, the Santa Catalina Forest Reserve was created on July 2, 1902, and after the

National Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

was organized in 1905, the reserve became the Santa Catalina National Forest on March 4, 1907. On July 1, 1908, it was combined with two other nearby national forests (Dragoon and Santa Rita) to create the present

Notable sites and areas

Mountains and ridges

* Cathedral Rock * Mount Bigelow * Mount Kimball *

: highest point * Pusch Ridge: westernmost point * Rattlesnake Peak * Table Mountain *

Thimble Peak Thimble Peak is a well-known landmark in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona. Thimble Peak rises from the foothills on the south side of the range. To its east is Bear Canyon, while to its west is Sabino Canyon. The peak is i ...

* Window Peak

Canyons

Bear Canyon Bear Canyon, located in the Sabino Canyon recreation area of the Coronado National Forest near Tucson, Arizona, offers views of the Santa Catalina Mountains to the north. Accessible by tram or foot from the Sabino Canyon visitors' center, Bear Ca ...

* Box Camp Canyon * Cañada del Oro: north of

* Esperero Canyon * Molino Canyon *

Pima Canyon Pima Canyon is a major canyon located in the Santa Catalina Mountains, north of Catalina Foothills and Tucson, Arizona, US. Pusch Ridge forms the northwestern cliffs of Pima Canyon, dramatically rising from Pima Creek on the canyon floor. Pima ...

: southeast of Pusch Ridge * Romero Canyon: located in

* Ventana Canyon

Other

Arizona Trail The Arizona National Scenic Trail is a National Scenic Trail from Mexico to Utah that traverses the whole north–south length of the U.S. state of Arizona. The trail begins at the Coronado National Memorial near the US–Mexico border and moves ...

* Rose Canyon Lake *

Catalina Highway The Catalina Highway, officially the General Hitchcock Highway, is the popular name for a Forest Highway and scenic route located in Pima County in southern Arizona. Also known as the Sky Island Scenic Byway, the Mount Lemmon Highway and Arizona ...

Redington Pass Redington Pass (el. 1310 m./4300 ft.) is a high mountain pass between the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Rincons in northeast Pima County, Arizona. It is located just east of Tucson. Historically, it was the connection between the farmi ...

* Tanque Verde Falls * Peppersauce Cave

Miscellaneous facts

* Mount Lemmon is not the highest point in the Tucson area.

Mount Wrightson Mount Wrightson (O'odham: Ce:wi Duag) is a peak in the Santa Rita Mountains within the Coronado National Forest, in southern Arizona, United States. It was named for William Wrightson, a miner and entrepreneur in the region killed by Apaches in ...

in the nearby

has an elevation of 9,453 feet (2,881 m). * It is the type locality of a species of Noctuidae or owlet moths (see

List of butterflies and moths of Arizona This is a list of butterflies and moths—species of the order Lepidoptera—that have been observed in the U.S. state of Arizona. Butterflies and moths A partial list of the butterflies and moths that can be found within the borders of ...

) * Mount Lemmon is named after

Sara Lemmon Sara Allen Plummer (September 3, 1836 – January 15, 1923) was an American botanist. Mount Lemmon in Arizona is named for her, as she was the first white woman to ascend it. She was responsible for the designation of the golden poppy (''Eschsch ...

, a plant collector and the first white woman to ascend the peak in the 1881. * Mercer Spring, located at the Molino Basin Campground on Mount Lemmon, is named for rancher Dell Mercer who had a ranch at the basin at one point. * Sollers Road, Sollers Point and Sollers Cabin, all on Mount Lemmon are named in honor of a fallen forest ranger named Carl Sollers. * Barnum Rock, a large rock formation, near San Pedro Vista, once used as a fire lookout and now used for rock climbing, is named for Willis E. Barnum Sr. a former Boy Scout Commissioner.

Gallery

Pine Forest Santa Catalina Mountains Arizona 2014.JPG, Pine forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains SkyIslands from SantaCatalinaMtns.JPG, View of "sky islands" from the Catalinas Catalina hwy 062005.jpg,

in the Santa Catalina Mountains Oracle AZ Mt Lemmon.JPG, Southern view of Mt. Lemmon from Oracle, Arizona Catalinastateparkbyandruvalpy.jpg, Northwestern view of the Catalina Mountains as seen from

Oro Valley Oro Valley, incorporated in 1974, is a suburban town located north of Tucson, Arizona, United States, in Pima County. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town is 47,070, an increase from 29,700 in 2000. Dubbed the "Upscale Te ...

Precarious pillar, Catalina hwy.jpg, Hitchcock Pinnacle, a hoodoo along Catalina Highway Rose Canyon Lake.jpg, Rose Canyon Lake

References

External links

Forest History Society

Listing of the National Forests of the United States and Their Dates
(from the

Forest History Society The Forest History Society is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of forest and conservation history."Forest History Society." Echo Project. Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. http://echo.gmu. ...

website) ''Text from Davis, Richard C., ed. Encyclopedia of American Forest and Conservation History. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company for the Forest History Society, 1983. Vol. II, pp. 743–788.''
Coronado National Forest

{{Authority control Madrean Sky Islands mountain ranges Mountain ranges of Arizona Mountain ranges of Pima County, Arizona Mountain ranges of Pinal County, Arizona Coronado National Forest