Aztec Pass is a gap and a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

between the

Juniper Mountains Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south a ...

and

Santa Maria Mountains The Santa Maria Mountains are a 16-mi (26 km) long mountain range in central-northwest Arizona, and in northwest Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapai County. The range lies in a region of mesas and mountain ranges in the northwest of Arizona's Ar ...

Yavapai County, Arizona Yavapai County ( ) is a County (United States), county near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county s ...

, United States. The

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

of the pass is at an elevation of 6,232 feet, at the divide between Muddy Wash on the west and Walnut Creek on the east. The eastern entrance to the pass is at the mouth of the

of Walnut Creek where it emerges from the hills on the west side of Chino Valley at at an elevation of . The western entrance to the pass is at the top of the

of Muddy Wash at the foot of the Juniper Mountains, located at .

History

Aztec Pass was the route of the wagon

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

, known as the Hardyville - Prescott Road, built by

William Harrison Hardy William Harrison Hardy (April 15, 1823 − June 1906) was an American politician and entrepreneur who founded the city of Hardyville, which has been replaced by Bullhead City, Arizona. Early life William H. Hardy was born in Watertown, ...

in 1864, from his

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " spl ...

at Hardyville to new Arizona territorial capital of

Prescott Prescott may refer to: People Given name * Prescott E. Bloom, American lawyer and politician * Prescott Bush, American banker and politician * Samuel Prescott Bush, American industrialist * Prescott F. Hall, American lawyer, author and eugenicist ...

, through the Juniper and Santa Maria Mountains. The western entrance was the location of a campground known as Oaks and Willows on Muddy Wash. The eastern entrance of the road into the pass was the location of the Old Toll Gate 6 miles east of the summit. The toll gate was moved 3 miles eastward after Hardy improved the route through the pass.

Camp Hualpai Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

at was built near that second tollgate along Walnut Creek where the road entered the pass from the south from Williamson Valley.Richard Josiah Hinton, ''The Handbook to Arizona: Its Resources, History, Towns, Mines, Ruins, and Scenery'', Payot, Upham & Company, San Francisco, 1878
p. xxiv

References

{{reflist Landforms of Yavapai County, Arizona Mountain passes of Arizona