The Sierra Aguilada is a
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 aris ...
in southwest
Catron County, New Mexico
Catron County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,579, making it New Mexico's third-least populous county. Its county seat is Reserve. Catron County is New Mexico's largest county by area. ...
on the eastern perimeter 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 ...
's
White Mountains. The
Mogollon Mountains
The Mogollon Mountains or Mogollon Range ( or ) are a mountain range in Grant County and Catron County of southwestern New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. They are primarily protected within the Gila National Forest.
Geography
The M ...
of New Mexico lie just east, with a south-flowing section of the
San Francisco River separating them. The river then turns west, forming the southern border of the Sierra Aguilada, and continues to eventually intercept 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 ...
after traversing northwest of the
Big Lue Mountains of Arizona.
Geography
The Sierra Aguilada is about 15 mi long. It is in a region of mountainous forest and
mesa
A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...
s. The Mogollon Mountains are east, with the large
Gila Wilderness
Gila Wilderness was designated the world's first wilderness area on June 3, 1924. Along with Aldo Leopold Wilderness and Blue Range Wilderness, the 558,014 acre (225,820 ha) (872 sq. mi.) wilderness is part of New Mexico's Gila National Fores ...
and
Gila National Forest
The Gila National Forest is a United States national forest in New Mexico. Established in 1905, it now covers approximately , making it the sixth largest national forest in the continental United States. The Forest administration also manage ...
. To the north and northwest lies the
Blue Range Wilderness.
The east perimeter of the range is traversed by
U.S. Route 180 in New Mexico as it parallels a north-south section of the San Francisco River. The communities of
Pleasanton and
Glenwood lie on the east and northeast of the range along the San Francisco River.
Peaks
The highest peak in the range, Brushy Mountain, , is in the north center of the range and east of the range centerline; Park Mountain, , is adjacent, and just west of the range centerline.
[New Mexico Atlas & Gazetteer, DeLorme, 5th ed., 2009, p. 36 ]
References
Landforms of Catron County, New Mexico
Mountain ranges of New Mexico
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