Black Mountain (Pima County, Arizona) Explained

Black Mountain
Elevation:3700feet
Elevation Ref:[1]
Prominence Ft:889
Prominence Ref:[2]
Location:Pima County, Arizona, U.S.
Map:Arizona#USA
Map Size:180
Coordinates:32.0866°N -111.0591°W
Topo:USGS San Xavier Mission

Black Mountain is a lava capped mesa in Pima County, Arizona, that rises 1,000 feet above its base to an altitude of 3700feet. It is a northeast trending ridge, 5,600 feet in length, located along Mission Road nine miles southwest of Tucson. It is on the San Xavier Indian Reservation, 3.18 miles southwest of the Mission San Xavier del Bac.[3] The Sierrita Mountains rise to the southwest and the Santa Cruz River is about four miles to the east.[4]

On top of Black Mountain are the ruins of an ancient Hohokam fortification. Long stone walls, circular stone rings, petroglyphs, man-made trails, and pottery sherds can still be seen today. However, the site is on reservation land, and is therefore not open to the general public.[5] [6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. CZ1973 . Black Hills 2 . 2016-08-15.
  2. 77229 . Black Mountain AZ . 2016-08-15.
  3. San Xavier Mission, Arizona, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1992
  4. Arizona Atlas and Gazetteer, DeLorme, 4th ed., 2001, p. 72
  5. Book: Titley, Spencer R. . Southern Arizona Guidebook, Volume 3 . Arizona Geological Society . 1968.
  6. Book: Fontana, Bernard L. . J. Cameron Greenleaf . Donnelly D. Cassidy . The Kiva: A Fortified Arizona Mountain . Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society, Arizona State Museum . 1959.