The Santa Maria Mountains are a 16-mi (26 km) long

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 ...

in central-northwest

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

, and in northwest

Yavapai County Yavapai County is 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 Prescott, AZ M ...

. The range lies in a region of

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...

s and mountain ranges in the northwest of Arizona's transition zone. The Santa Maria Mountains lie east of the transition zone's northwest perimeter, the parallel

Aquarius Aquarius may refer to: Astrology * Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign * Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages Astronomy * Aquarius (constellation) * Aquarius in Chinese astronomy Arts and entertainment ...

and Mohon Mountains. The townsite of Tucker, Arizona lies 8 mi east, and is located just west of Chino Valley, AZ. Tucker lies in the center-east of the small Williamson Valley.

Description

The Santa Maria Mountains are northwest–southeast trending and attached to a smaller range on its south, the Cornell Mountains. The small Chino Valley north-trending tributary Williamson Valley Wash and Valley, border the range's east. Numerous hills, peaks, mesas, and flats are in the region. North Fork Creek and Juniper Mesa-(part of southeast

Juniper Mountains 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 ...

), border north. Tailholt Mesa, borders southeast, east of the Cornell Mountains. On the range's northwest, Sawmill and Johnson Flats merge west into the Mohon Mountains. Southwest are other various ridges and mesas, that are all part of smaller mountain areas just northeast of the mining district of Bagdad.

Mountain peaks

Various peaks are in the range. The northwest area has Bear Mountain, Janes Butte, and Dairy Mountain, . The center-south of the range is at Granite Knob, . Bald Mountain, , is northeast; just southwest, closer to the Cornell Mountains, is the range highpoint, Hyde Creek Mountain, .''Arizona Road & Recreation Atlas'', pp. 66–67, 68. The

Apache Creek Wilderness Apache Creek Wilderness is a 5,666-acre (2,293 ha) wilderness area under the jurisdiction of the Chino Valley District of the Prescott National Forest in the U.S. state of Arizona. Established in 1984, the Wilderness contains rolling hills of j ...

is adjacent north of Hyde Creek Mountain.

References

Notes

* Lucchitta, Ivo (2001). "Hiking Arizona's Geology" Part 2, ''Arizona Transition Zone'', Graphic, w/text, Hikes 18–26, Mountaineers's Books. 272 pages, 41 Hikes. (Transition zone: Hikes 18–26, pp. 143–182.) (softcover, )

External links

Granite Knob, Arizona Peaks

{{Authority control Arizona transition zone mountain ranges Mountain ranges of Yavapai County, Arizona Mountain ranges of Arizona Prescott National Forest