Granite Wash Pass is a gap between the Granite Wash Mountains and the Little Harquahala Mountains, in

La Paz County, Arizona La Paz County () is the 15th County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Arizona, located in the western part of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 16,557, making it the List of counties ...

. Granite Wash Pass is located at the southwest end of the Granite Wash Mountains and the northwest end of the Little Harquahala Mountains. The apex of the pass is at an elevation of .

History

The Granite Wash Pass has been a route between the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

and the interior of

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 ...

from November 1863 when teamsters Gird and Sage discovered a route what became the

La Paz–Wikenburg Road La Paz–Wikenburg Road was a wagon road from 1863 and from 1866 a stagecoach route between the Colorado River landings at La Paz, Olive City, Arizona, Olive City and Mineral City, Arizona, Mineral City to the mining town of Wickenburg, Arizona. ...

through Granite Wash Pass. In the early years a waterhole, Granite Water existed within the pass.Official Map Of The Territory Of Arizona, With All The Recent Explorations. Compiled by Richard Gird C.E. Commissioner. Approved By John N. Goodwin, Governor. In Accordance With An Act Of The Legislature, Approved Oct. 23d. 1864. We hereby certify that this is the Official Map of the Territory of Arizona, and approve the same. Prescott October 12th 1865. (with signed seal dated 1863). Published By A. Gensoul, Pacific Map Depot. No. 511 Montgomery St. San Francisco. Lith. Britton & Co. San Francisco. From davidrumsey.com, accessed on 6/21/2016
/ref> The maps of the route in later years, Granite Water is no longer mentioned.Sheet No. 1 & 3, Department of Arizona. Revised, 1875. Compiled under the authority of Maj. Gen. J.M. Schofield Commanding Mil. Div. of the Pacific by 1st Lieut. J.C. Mallery Corps of Engrs. Published by authority of The Hon. The Secretary of War in the Office of the Chief Of Engineers U.S. Army Washington D.C. 1876. Drawn by J.W. Ward. From davidrumsey.com, accessed on 6/15/2018
/ref> Official Map Of The Territory Of Arizona Compiled from Surveys, Reconnaissances and other Sources. By E.A. Eckhoff And P. Riecker, Civil Engineers, 1880. Drawn by Eckhoff & Riecker. The Graphic Co. Photo-Lith. 39 & 41 Park Place, N.Y. Entered ... 1879, by Emil Eckhoff and Paul Riecker ... Washington, D.C., 1880
“Official Map of the Territory of Arizona” showing La Paz – Wikenburg Road and Hardyville – Prescott Road with mileage between locations along the roads, from davidrumsey.com, accessed on 6/21/2016 Perhaps it was insufficient or had dried up. Granite Water might have been a temporary spring or waterhole created for a few years as a result of the extreme rainfall in Arizona by the storms that caused the

Great Flood of 1862 The Great Flood of 1862 was the largest flood in the recorded history of California, Oregon, and Nevada, inundating the western United States and portions of British Columbia and Mexico. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains and snows tha ...

. Also stations for the stage lines like the one at Desert Station and the original watering place at Flint's had developed wells that provided more water. Today the pass contains the

Arizona and California Railroad The Arizona and California Railroad is a class III short line railroad that was a subdivision of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF). The ARZC began operations on May 9, 1991, when David Parkinson of the ParkSierra RailGroup purchas ...

line, as well as U.S. Route 60 in Arizona from

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

on the west side of the pass and Harcuvar, Arizona on the east.

References

{{coord, 33, 44, 53, N, 113, 40, 25, W, source:GNIS, display=title Mountain passes of Arizona