The Chiricahua Mountains

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

is a large

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 aris ...

in southeastern

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

which is part of the

Basin and Range province The Basin and Range Province is a vast United States physiographic region, physiographic region covering much of the inland Western United States and Northern Mexico, northwestern Mexico. It is defined by unique basin and range topography, charac ...

of the west and

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

and northwest Mexico; the range is part of 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 ...

. The highest point, Chiricahua Peak, rises above sea level, approximately above the surrounding valleys. The range takes its name from the Chiricahua Apaches native to the region. The Chiricahua Mountains and other associated ranges, along with

Sulphur Springs Valley The Sulphur Springs Valley is a valley in the eastern half of Cochise County, Arizona. The valley covers an approximated vertical rectangle west of the Chiricahua Mountains–Dos Cabezas Mountains complex. The Sulphur Springs Valley is the large ...

on the west and the

San Simon Valley The San Simon Valley is a broad valley east of the Chiricahua Mountains, in the northeast corner of Cochise County, Arizona and southeastern Graham County, with a small portion near Antelope Pass in Hidalgo County of southwestern New Mexico. T ...

on the east, form the eastern half of

Cochise County Cochise County ( ) is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after Cochise, a Chiricahua Apache who was a key war leader during the Apache Wars. The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county ...

in southeast Arizona. The Pedregosa Mountains are found at the southern end of the Chiricahua Mountains, while the Swisshelm Mountains are located to the southwest. The northwest end of the Chiricahua mountains continues as the

Dos Cabezas Mountains The Dos Cabezas Mountains are a mountain range in southeasternmost Arizona, United States. The Dos Cabezas Mountains Wilderness lies east of Willcox and south of Bowie in Cochise County. The mountain range's name means Two Heads in Spanish ...

beyond

Apache Pass Apache Pass, also known by its earlier Spanish name Puerto del Dado ("Pass of the Die"), is a historic mountain pass in the U.S. state of Arizona between the Dos Cabezas Mountains and Chiricahua Mountains at an elevation of . It is approximately ...

and the Fort Bowie National Historic Site. Access to the Chiricahua Mountains and

is through Willcox from the north,

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

from the south, and

Rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

from the east. Part of the range lies within the Chiricahua Wilderness, managed by the Coronado National Forest.

History

The earliest evidence of humans in the vicinity of the Chiricahua Mountains are

Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...

archeological sites such as Double Adobe Site in the Whitewater Draw tributary of Rucker Creek north of

. Subsequently, the Cochise culture another pre-ceramic based culture spanning 3000–200 BCE was defined from sites around the Chiricahua Mountains, including

Cave Creek Canyon Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock sh ...

. Following the transition to ceramics, artifacts characteristic of both

Mogollon culture The Mogollon culture ( ) is a pre-historic archaeological culture of Native American peoples from Southern New Mexico and Arizona, Northern Sonora and Chihuahua, and Western Texas. The northern part of this region is Oasisamerica, while the sou ...

and its local variants, the

Mimbres culture The Mogollon culture ( ) is a pre-historic archaeological culture of Native American peoples from Southern New Mexico and Arizona, Northern Sonora and Chihuahua, and Western Texas. The northern part of this region is Oasisamerica, while the sout ...

, are found. These relics span the period from 150 BCE – 1450. The influx of other

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, such as the Chiricahua Apaches, including the leaders

Cochise Cochise ( ; Apache: or , ; later or , ; June 8, 1874) was the leader of the Chiricahui local group of the Chokonen and principal nantan of the Chokonen band of a Chiricahua Apache. A key war leader during the Apache Wars, he led an upri ...

and

Geronimo Gerónimo (, ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands the Tchihen ...

occupied the area until forced removal in the late 19th century. The name Chiricahua is believed to originate from the

Opata Opata may refer to: * Opata people, an ethnic group of Mexico * Opata language, their language * Aleš Opata, Czeck military officer * Zoltán Opata, Hungarian football player and manager See also

* {{Disambiguation ...

name for the mountains, ''Chiwi Kawi'', meaning "Turkey Mountain". The Chiricahuas were once known for an abundance of wild turkeys. The first recorded mining claim in the Chiricahua Mountains was the Hidden Treasure claim filed in 1881, and mining has continued intermittently to the present with the greatest periods of activity occurring in the 1920s and 1950s. More recently, the Chiricahuas have fallen into use by people smugglers and drug cartels, who position lookouts on their peaks to warn of Border Patrol activities.

Geology overview

The Chiricahua Mountains are an uplifted structural block of the

Basin and Range Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...

. The mountains contain

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

basement rocks,

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

and

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

s around a

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

complex formed by

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

eruptions and intrusions 35–25 million years ago. The last major eruption, 27 million years ago, created the Turkey Creek Caldera and laid down of

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...

which fused into welded

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

. Subsequent erosion has created mountain ridges covered in stone spires and stone columns, hoodoos, that rise up out of the forest. These natural features, preserved in the

Chiricahua National Monument Chiricahua National Monument is a unit of the List of areas in the United States National Park System, National Park System located in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. The monument was established on April 18, 1924, to protect ...

, are composed of

Rhyolite Canyon Tuff The Boot Heel volcanic field is located in the Bootheel region of southwest New Mexico, adjacent areas of southeastern Arizona, and northwest Mexico. The field covers an area of more than 24,000 km2.Baldridge, W. Scott, ''Geology of the Ame ...

. A one to two mile wide band of

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedime ...

rock running southeast to northwest from south of Portal through Paradise and up to the Dos Cabezas Mountains is the source of mineralized deposits. The largest of the mines developed in the California district of the Chiricahua Mountains was the Hilltop mine which consisted of 3 interconnected levels totaling .

Flora and fauna

The Chiricahua Mountains are a bio-diverse area which is composed of numerous

sky islands Sky islands are 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 high-elevation forests. The isolation has s ...

. Five of the 9

life zones The life zone concept was developed by C. Hart Merriam in 1889 as a means of describing areas with similar plant and animal communities. Merriam observed that the changes in these communities with an increase in latitude at a constant elevation a ...

are found in the Chiricahua Mountains. Three hundred and seventy-five avian species have been recorded from the Chiricahua Mountains; some are largely Mexican species for which southern Arizona is the northern limits of their ranges. Other animals of note include

ocelots The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean island ...

jaguars The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat species in the Americas an ...

mountain lions The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, '' KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild ...

, black bears, and

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

. Of note is that perhaps the last remaining jaguar in the United States is found here, a male named Sombra by wildlife officials. With the base of the Chiricahuas at about , the range covers about in elevation. Grasslands and desert cover the base of the range, with

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

and

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

at the highest elevations. Cave Creek Canyon on the east side is home to the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

Southwest Research Station and the small towns of

Portal Portal may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), a series of video games developed by Valve ** ''Portal'' (video game), a 2007 video game, the first in the series ** '' Portal 2'', the 2011 sequel ** '' Portal Stori ...

and

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

Species associated with the range

Arizona sycamore ''Platanus wrightii'', the Arizona sycamore, is a sycamore tree native to Arizona and New Mexico with its range extending south into the Mexican states of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Sinaloa.Laferriere, J.E. Platanaceae, "Sycamore or Plane Tree Famil ...

* '' Catocala violenta'' (=''Catocala chiricahua'') * '' Charadra tapa'' * Chiricahua leopard frog *

Eared quetzal The eared quetzal (''Euptilotis neoxenus''), also known as the eared trogon, is a near passerine bird in the trogon family, Trogonidae. It is native to streamside pine-oak forests and canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico from north ...

Elegant trogon The elegant trogon (''Trogon elegans''), previously known as the coppery-tailed trogon, is a near passerine bird in the trogon family native to Central America. The etymology of the word trogon comes from the Greek word ''trōgein,'' meaning "to ...

* ''

Hypotrix lunata ''Hypotrix lunata'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the range of Arizona to northern Mexico. The length of the forewings is 15–17 mm and the wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the dist ...

'' *

Johann's pinyon ''Pinus johannis'', the Johann's pine, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to North America. The range extends from southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico, United States, south in Mexico along the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sie ...

* '' Lilium parryi'' * '' Lithophane leeae'' *

Madrean pine-oak woodlands The Madrean region (named after the Sierra Madre Occidental) is a floristic region within the Holarctic kingdom in North America, as delineated by Armen Takhtajan and Robert F. Thorne. It occupies arid or semiarid areas in the southwestern U ...

Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir ''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' var. ''glauca'', or Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, is an evergreen conifer native to the interior mountainous regions of western North America, from central British Columbia and southwest Alberta in Canada southward through ...

* ''

Tricholita ferrisi ''Tricholita ferrisi'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is only known from Onion Saddle in the Chiricahua Mountains and Ash Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains of extreme south-eastern Arizona at elevations between 1,575 and 2,325 metres. This ...

''– ((?) found only at Onion Saddle)

Gallery

File:Chiricahua nima4.JPG,

File:Chiricahua nima6.JPG, Hoodoos, Chiricahua National Monument File:Chiricahua Nima1.JPG, Trees and hoodoos, Chiricahua National Monument File:SpherulitesChiricahua.JPG,

Spherulites In petrology, spherulites () are small, rounded bodies that commonly occur in vitreous igneous rocks. They are often visible in specimens of obsidian, pitchstone, and rhyolite as globules about the size of millet seed or rice grain, with a du ...

File:Taghdeem be doostam Pastoral.JPG, Road to

File:Chiricahuamountainsarizona.jpg, Sunglow Ranch File:Cave Creek Canyon.JPG, Cave Creek Canyon File:Chiricahua map.jpg, Chiricahua Mountain Range (

), and its sub-Ranges, with the bordering valleys.

References

External links

The Nature Explorers Chiricahua Expedition
A 2-hour 49 minute ecosystem video. * *
Chiricahua Peak Summit, trails, mountainzone.com, (coord)

Chiricahua Mountains Study Area

Map of Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas Mountains

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