The Mule Mountains are a north/south running

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 arise ...

located in the south-central area of

Cochise County, Arizona Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise. The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city ...

. The highest peak,

Mount Ballard Mount Ballard, with an elevation of is located in Cochise County, Arizona, about west of Bisbee. See also * List of mountains and hills of Arizona by height References {{Mountains of Arizona Landforms of Cochise County, Arizona ...

, rises to . Prior to mining operations commencing there, the mountains were heavily

forested A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

with large

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 ...

(''Pseudotsuga menziesii glauca'') and other conifers, but these were all cut down for housing needs and to feed the ore

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ...

furnaces in

Douglas, Arizona Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States that lies in the north-west to south-east running Sulpher Springs Valley. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico at Agua Prieta and a history of mining. The population was 16,531 ...

, approximately 20 miles due east. Now, the primary vegetation of the Mules consists of manzanita (''Arctostaphylos'' spp.) brush,

juniper 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, from the Arcti ...

, lowland oaks and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

s, and various

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in law ...

es. To the east of the mountain range lies Sulphur Springs Valley, and the San Pedro River and

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain 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 ...

to the west. The terrain is very rough, with very steep slopes descending into deep canyons. Common wildlife species include desert

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

(''Odocoileus hemionus eremicus''), Coues'

White-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

(''O. virginianus couesi''),

Collared Peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to a ...

(''Pecari tajacu'') (locally known as javalinas), various types of rodents, lizards and a wide variety of birds. The upper ridges of the mountains consist primarily of a very hard

breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of d ...

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 wh ...

, and it is very common to find

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s of clams and snails imbedded in them. Immediately to the east central area of the Mules lies the Lavender Pit, a large and very deep open pit

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

mine dug and mined by the Phelps Dodge Corporation between 1951 through 1974. Over a billion tons of copper were extracted from the mine, along with significant quantities

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

. Also, as a by-product of the mining operations, high quality

turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of y ...

(locally known as Bisbee Blue) was also discovered. On the east central slope of the Mule Mountains can be found the Copper Queen Mine. In its days of production, (late 19th century – early 20th century) it was the richest copper deposit ever discovered, causing the accompanying town of Bisbee, Arizona to prosper. Under this part of the Mule Mountains are many mining tunnels dug in pursuit of the rich copper ore. Today, Bisbee (also known as the "mile-high city," at elevation ) is largely a tourist town and retirement community along the slopes of Tombstone Canyon in the heart of the Mules. There are currently no organized mining operations in effect in the Mule Mountains. Much of the east/southeastern area of the range is private property.

References

External links

Mule Mountains
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Cochise County, Arizona Madrean Sky Islands mountain ranges Mountain ranges of Arizona