Tinajas Altas Mountains
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The Tinajas Altas Mountains ( O'odham: Uʼuva:k or Uʼuv Oopad) are an extremely arid northwest–southeast trending mountain range in southern
Yuma County, Arizona Yuma County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 203,881. ...
, approximately 35 mi southeast of
Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...
. The southern end of the range extends approximately one mile into the northwestern Mexican state of
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
on the northern perimeter of the
Gran Desierto de Altar The Gran Desierto de Altar is one of the major sub-ecoregions of the Sonoran Desert, located in the State of Sonora, in northwest Mexico. It includes the only active erg dune region in North America. The desert extends across much of the northern ...
. The range is about 22 mi in length and about 4 mi wide at its widest point. The highpoint of the range is unnamed and is above sea level and is located at 32°16'26"N, 114°02'48"W (NAD 1983 datum). Aside from the portion of the range in Mexico, the entirety of the range lies within the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range. They lie at the heart of the traditional homeland of the Hia C-eḍ O'odham people.


Geology and geography

Geologically, the Tinajas Altas Mountains are a southeastward extension of the block faulted Gila Mountains, and what are now the Tinajas Altas Mountains were actually considered part of the Gila Mountains until about the middle of the 20th century. The two ranges are separated by Cipriano Pass, also referred to as "Smugglers Pass," about two miles northwest of Raven Butte, which is a notable dark-colored volcanic feature on the eastern flank of the otherwise light-colored granitic range. The range is named for the ''
Tinajas Altas El Camino del Diablo (Spanish, meaning "The Devil's Path"), also known as El Camino del Muerto, Sonora Trail, Sonoyta-Yuma Trail, Yuma-Caborca Trail, and Old Yuma Trail, is a historic road that passes through some of the most remote and inhospita ...
'' ("High Tanks"), which are a series of perched waterholes on the range's eastern side approximately four miles north of the international boundary. The waterholes figured prominently in the history of the area as they were for many years the only reliable source of water for many miles. Native Americans, principally the Hia C-eḍ O'odham, also utilized the
waterhole Waterhole or water hole may refer to: * Watering hole, a depression in the ground in which water can collect, or a more permanent pool in the bed of an ephemeral river * Water hole (radio), an especially quiet region of the electromagnetic spectru ...
s as an important camp prior to European settlement. The range lies in the Lower Colorado subdivision of the
Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America 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 and California). It ...
. This subdivision is sometimes referred to as the
Colorado Desert The Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States, and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to ...
and encompasses much of southeastern California, southwestern Arizona, northwestern Sonora, and northeastern Baja California. The subdivision is characterized by minimal precipitation, and the area around the Tinajas Altas Mountains averages only about three inches of rainfall per year. Mexican topographic maps and
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
(USGS) maps of the region disagree on the name of an adjacent range lying to the southeast of the Tinajas Altas Mountains. In the United States this small range is referred to as the Sierra de la Lechuguilla, but in Mexico they are called the Sierra Tinajas Altas which would suggest that they are a longer extension of the Tinajas Altas Mountains into Mexico. The two ranges, however, share no surface connection so they are not the same. The Sierra de la Lechuguilla/Sierra Tinajas Altas range are instead on a parallel alignment to the southeast of the Tinajas Altas Mountains proper. The closest community to the Tinajas Altas Mountains is
Fortuna Foothills Fortuna Foothills is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The population was 26,265 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area. Development of the area began in the 1960s, when ...
in the east of the Yuma Valley adjacent to the Gila Mountains.


Ecology

The Tinajas Altas Mountains exhibit a variety of
flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
and
fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
species. Among the notable flora present is the elephant tree, (''
Bursera microphylla ''Bursera microphylla'', known by the common name elephant tree in English or 'torote' in Spanish, is a tree in the genus '' Bursera''. It grows into a distinctive sculptural form, with a thickened, water-storing or caudiciform trunk. It is foun ...
''), which species exhibits a contorted multi-furcate architecture.C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Elephant Tree: Bursera microphylla'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg


See also

*
Cabeza Prieta Mountains The Cabeza Prieta Mountains are a mountain range in the northwestern Sonoran Desert of southwest Arizona. It is located in southern Yuma County, Arizona. The mountain range is amongst an eleven-mountain sequence of north-trending ranges and va ...
*
El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve () is a biosphere reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site managed by the federal government of Mexico, specifically by Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources, in collaborat ...
* Lechuguilla Desert *
List of LCRV Wilderness Areas (Colorado River) The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 806 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies: *National Park Service (NPS) *United States Forest Service (USFS) *United States Fish and Wildlife Service ...
*
List of mountain ranges of Arizona There are 210 named mountain ranges in Arizona.This list also includes mountain ranges that are mostly in New Mexico and Sonora, Mexico, that extend into Arizona. Alphabetical list The southeast of Arizona, with New Mexico, northwest Chihua ...
*
List of mountain ranges of Yuma County, Arizona A list of mountain ranges of Yuma County, Arizona. '' Yuma, Arizona Winterhaven, California'' is on the Colorado River in the southern section of the Lower Colorado River Valley. Adjacent notable towns at this confluence of CaliforniaArizona, and ...
*
Pinacate Peaks The Pinacate Peaks (Sierra Pinacate, ) are a volcanic group, group of volcanic peaks and cinder cones located mostly in the Mexican state of Sonora along the international border adjacent to the U.S. state of Arizona, surrounded by the vas ...
* Sierra Pinta * Tinajas Altas (High Tanks) *
Tule Desert (Arizona) The Tule Desert is a small desert located in southwestern Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico border. It is considered to be part of the Lower Colorado Valley region of the Sonoran Desert. It lies in a north–south direction to the east of the Cabeza ...
* Valley and range sequence-Southern Yuma County *
Yuma Desert The Yuma Desert is a lower-elevation section of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and the northwest of Mexico. It lies in the Salton Sink, Salton basin. The desert contains areas of sparse vegetation and has notable areas of Dune ...


References


Further reading


Border Patrol: Along the Devil's Highway



Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge - Arizona

Vehicle Trails Associated with Illegal Border Activities on Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge – July 2011
{{Authority control History of Yuma County, Arizona Mountain ranges of Arizona Mountain ranges of the Lower Colorado River Valley Mountain ranges of the Sonoran Desert Mountain ranges of Yuma County, Arizona Mountain ranges of Mexico Landforms of Sonora