The Tucson Mountains (
O'odham: ) are a minor mountain range west of
Tucson
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
,
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 ...
, United States. The Tucson Mountains, including Wasson Peak, are one of four notable mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson Basin. The
Santa Catalina Mountains lie to the northeast, the
Rincon Mountains are to the east of Tucson, and the
Santa Rita Mountains lie to the south. Additionally, the
Sierrita Mountains lie due south, the
Roskruge Mountains lie to the west across
Avra Valley, the
Silver Bell Mountains lie to the northwest, and the
Tortolita Mountains lie to the north across the
Santa Cruz Valley.
[''Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona,'' 30x60 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1994]
Parks and preserves
The
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is located on the west flank of the Tucson Mountains. Much of the range is protected by
Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in southeastern Arizona. The park consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain District (TMD), about west of Tucson, Arizona, T ...
and Tucson Mountain Park, run by Pima County.
Old Tucson Studios are located just west of the Tucson Mountains.
Tucson Mountain Park was established in April 1929. The Pima County Parks Commission, with C. B. Brown as its chairman, was established to oversee the park. At approximately , the park is one of the largest natural resource areas owned and managed by a local government in the U.S. The park has approximately of non-motorized shared-use trails. The area is popular with hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians.
Saguaro National Park was created as a national monument in 1933 and later designated a national park in 1994. The Tucson Mountain District of Saguaro National Park ranges from an elevation of and contains 2 biotic communities,
desert scrub, and desert grassland. Average annual precipitation is approximately . Common wildlife include the
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...
,
Gambel's quail, and
desert tortoise
The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii'') is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico ...
.
Brown Mountain in Tucson Mountain Park is named in honor of park founder, C.B. Brown; Kinney Road, the main thoroughfare in the park is, named for Pima County Supervisor, Jack C. Kinney who worked with Brown in the creation of the park and McCain Loop was named for J.C. McCain, the first park ranger.
Gallery
File:Tucson mountains from brown mountain trail tucson az 20181019 082455.webm, Tucson Mountains and saguaro from the Brown Mountain Trail
File:Tumamoc_Hill_and_A_Mountain_from_Huerfano_Butte_area_2013.jpg, View across the Tucson Basin towards Tumamoc Hill (left) and "A" Mountain (right), which can be seen in the center of the background.
File:Tucson_Mountains_Foothills_Arizona_2014.jpg, The foothills south of the Tucson Mountains. Beehive Peak is at the center-left, Cat Mountain is at the far left. The Catalina Mountains are in the background at right.
File:Tucson_Mountains_Foothills_Arizona_2014_Number_2.jpg, Another view of the foothills south of the Tucson Mountains. Cat Mountain is at the right.
File:Gates Pass Park1.JPG, 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 ...
vegetation at Gates Pass.
File:Sunset over Tucson Mts.jpg, Sunset over the Tucson Mountains.
See also
*
Madrean Sky Islands
References
External links
Tucson Mountain Park official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucson Mountains
Geography of Tucson, Arizona
Mountain ranges of Pima County, Arizona
Mountain ranges of the Sonoran Desert
Mountain ranges of Arizona