Needle's Eye Wilderness is an

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

located approximately southeast of the town of

Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...

Gila County Gila County ( ) is in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,272. The county seat is Globe. Gila County comprises the Payson, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area. Gila County contains p ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of

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 ...

.Needle's Eye Wilderness Area
– Arizona BLM

Topography

The

Mescal Mountains The Mescal Mountains (in Western Apache language: Nadah Choh Dasán – "Big Mescal Sitting There") are a series of connected mountain ridges in southern Gila County, Arizona. Their highest point is El Capitan Mountain, which has an elevation of 6, ...

run northwest across the center of Needle's Eye Wilderness. The southwest flank of the range forms a

dip slope A dip slope is a topographic (geomorphic) surface which slopes in the same direction, and often by the same amount, as the true dip or apparent dip of the underlying strata.Jackson, JA, J Mehl and K Neuendorf (2005) ''Glossary of Geology.'' Amer ...

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

more than high. The Gila River forms the Wilderness area's southern boundary as it cuts through the mountains in three narrow, deep canyons known as the Needle's Eye. A deep

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

covers the narrow river channel, forming the southern boundary of this area. Several small slickrock canyons bisect the Wilderness and connect to the Gila River.

Access

Needle's Eye Wilderness is surrounded by the

San Carlos Apache The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation ( Western Apache: Tsékʼáádn), in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1872 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe as well as surrounding Yavapai and Apache bands removed fr ...

Indian Reservation to the north and south, and private lands to the east and west. Visitors must obtain permission in advance to access the Wilderness.Needle's Eye Wilderness
– Wilderness.net

References

External links

Needle's Eye Wilderness Area
– U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Needle's Eye Wilderness
– Wilderness.net {{authority control Protected areas of Gila County, Arizona IUCN Category Ib Wilderness areas of Arizona Bureau of Land Management areas in Arizona Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Arizona

Topography

Access

See also

References

External links