East Pocket Knob is a

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 ...

Coconino County, Arizona Coconino County is a County (United States), county in the North Central Arizona, North-Central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff, Arizon ...

, United States.

Description

East Pocket Knob is located north of

Sedona Sedona ( ) is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. The city is within the Coconino Nati ...

in the

Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness The Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness is a 47,195-acre (19,099 ha) wilderness area located within the Coconino National Forest in the United States, U.S. state of Arizona.

, on land managed by

Coconino National Forest The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre (751,000 ha) United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff, with elevations ranging from 2,600 feet to the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet (H ...

. It is the highest point in the wilderness. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains to Oak Creek which is part of the

Verde River The Verde River ( Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona. Description The ri ...

watershed.

Topographic relief Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is significant as the summit rises above

Oak Creek Canyon Oak Creek Canyon is a river gorge located in northern Arizona between the cities of Flagstaff and Sedona. The canyon is often described as a smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon because of its scenic beauty. State Route 89A enters the canyon on ...

in one mile (1.6 km). The nearest higher neighbor is Smith Butte, five miles (8 km) to the northeast. East Pocket Knob is composed of a layer of dark-gray basalt overlaying light-colored

Coconino Sandstone The Coconino Sandstone is a geologic formation (geology), formation composed of light-colored quartz arenite of Aeolian processes, eolian origin. It erodes to form conspicuous, sheer cliffs in the upper walls of Grand Canyon, as part of the Mog ...

. Hiking the strenuous A. B. Young Trail to the fire lookout tower at the summit covers two miles (one-way) with 33 switchbacks and 1,950 feet of elevation gain.Bruce Grubbs, ''The Creaky Knees Guide Arizona: The 80 Best Easy Hikes'', Sasquatch Books, 2012, , p. 107. The trail was originally built by C.S. (Bear) Howard in the 1880s to access grazing pastures on the plateau, then it was reconstructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps as supervised by A.B. Young. The lookout was built in 1943 and is one of only two wooden fire lookouts remaining in Arizona. The landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...

. "Pocket" was a term that pioneers used for an isolated area of land surrounded by cliffs on three sides.Bruce Grubbs, ''Best Easy Day Hikes Sedona'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2009, , p. 87.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, East Pocket Knob is located in a temperate

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

zone. Hikers can expect afternoon rain and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August. Spring and autumn offer the most favorable weather for hiking the trail to East Pocket Knob.

References

External links

* Weather forecast
East Pocket Knob
* National Geodetic Survey data sheet
East Pocket Knob
* A. B. Young Trail No. 100
US Forest Service
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = East Pocket Knob , North = West Fork Oak Creek , Northeast = Highway 89A , East =

, Southeast = Oak Creek , South = Wilson Mountain , Southwest = Lost Wilson Mountain , West =

Yavapai County Yavapai County ( ) is a county 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 Pr ...

, Northwest = Barney Pasture Mountains of Arizona Mountains of Coconino County, Arizona Two-thousanders of the United States Coconino National Forest Landforms of Coconino County, Arizona Sandstone formations of the United States

Description

Climate

See also

References

External links