Ragged Top is a mountain summit located within

Ironwood Forest National Monument Ironwood Forest National Monument is located in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. Created by Bill Clinton by Presidential Proclamation 7320 on June 9, 2000, the monument is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the United State ...

, in Pima County of southern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. It is situated 35 miles northwest of Tucson, in the

Silver Bell Mountains The Silver Bell Mountains are a northwest–southeast trending mountain range in north–central Pima County, Arizona. The range lies west of Marana, Arizona, located on Interstate-10, northwest of Tucson. The range is located to the east of ...

, where it rises over above the surrounding terrain as a landmark of the area. Ragged Top is the biological and geological crown jewel of the monument for sightseeing and wildlife viewing, such as the

Desert bighorn sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The Bu ...

and the desert tortoise. Ragged Top contains the greatest richness of species within the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...

, including 401 plant species. Cathestecum erectum (common name false grama) is only found on Ragged Top in the state of Arizona. Saguaro and

ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in E ...

forests cover the bajadas surrounding this mountain. This geographical feature lies within the

Gila River The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of n ...

drainage basin. Four small arches are located on this mountain.''Ironwood Forest National Monument Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement'', US Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, September 2011.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Ragged Top is located in a hot

arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

zone.

Gallery

File:Ragged Top, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona.jpg File:Ragged Top, Ironwood Forest National Monument.jpg, West aspect File:Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona.jpg, North aspect

References

External links

* Weather forecast
National Weather Service
{{Mountains of Arizona Sonoran Desert Landforms of Pima County, Arizona Mountains of Arizona Volcanic plugs of the United States North American 1000 m summits

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links