Sunnyslope Mountain also known as "S" Mountain''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...

'', November 2, 2001 is a large, rocky, nearly symmetric hill in the Sunnyslope section of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. It is located near Central Avenue and Hatcher Road. The southern slope of the mountain is adorned with a 150-foot white

majuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally '' majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing syste ...

"S". The mountain, in particular the large "S", can be seen from thirty miles away on a clear day, and is distinctly visible to nearby

airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

passengers. Although the mountain is part of the Phoenix Mountains, the mountain is most closely associated with Sunnyslope High School. Each year, the freshmen class is assigned the task of hiking up the mountain and giving the "S" a fresh coat of white paint. At the end of the Homecoming

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

game, the "S" is traditionally outlined with red flares which are ignited by members of the freshmen football team. Students came together in June 2004 to convert the "S" to a "J" in memory of Josh Conard, a basketball player for Sunnyslope who was killed by a drunk driver. When the school was remodeled in the mid-1990s, the view of Sunnyslope Mountain from the home football stands was partially obstructed. However, Sunnyslope Mountain remains one of the most visible, artificial features of the northern skyline of the

Valley of the Sun A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing 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 a ve ...

. The name of the mountain is derived from the bordering Sunnyslope district of Phoenix. Sunnyslope is generally defined as the area east and south of North Mountain and north of the

Arizona Canal The Arizona Canal is a major canal in central Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County that led to the founding of several communities, now among the wealthier neighborhoods of suburban Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, constructed in the late 1880s. ...

. It is listed on the Phoenix Historic Property Register.

References

External links

* {{Phoenix neighborhoods Geography of Phoenix, Arizona Mountains of Arizona Landforms of Maricopa County, Arizona Mountains of Maricopa County, Arizona