Lukachukai Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Lukachukai Mountains are a mountain range in northeast Arizona
, entirely within the Navajo Indian Reservation. The highest point of the range is an unnamed point at 9466 feet (2885 meters) above sea level. While open during the winter, no road maintenance is performed and chains or four wheel drive with good snow tires are essential due to grades of up to 14% in many places.
The Lukachukai Mountain trail gives access to some of the scenic red-rock high country here. The trailhead is located just south of Buffalo Pass on Indian Route 13, a paved highway. The trail is passable to OHVs in dry weather. A permit is required from the Navajo Nation
.
There is a belt of uranium deposits that crosses the Lukachukai Mountains. The ore belt is within a bed of lenticular sandstone
and mudstone
that apparently provided sufficient permeable sandstone for the passage of ore solutions, and sufficient impermeable mudstone to restrict movement of solutions to particular sandstone beds. An unusual concentration of organic material (carbonized wood?) served as a precipitation agent.
Northeast Arizona
Northeast Arizona is a region of the U.S. state of Arizona commonly including Apache County and Navajo County. Some notable towns there are St. Johns, Eagar, Holbrook, Show Low, Winslow, Window Rock, Fort Defiance, Ganado, Chinle, and Kayenta....
, entirely within the Navajo Indian Reservation. The highest point of the range is an unnamed point at 9466 feet (2885 meters) above sea level. While open during the winter, no road maintenance is performed and chains or four wheel drive with good snow tires are essential due to grades of up to 14% in many places.
The Lukachukai Mountain trail gives access to some of the scenic red-rock high country here. The trailhead is located just south of Buffalo Pass on Indian Route 13, a paved highway. The trail is passable to OHVs in dry weather. A permit is required from the Navajo Nation
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
.
There is a belt of uranium deposits that crosses the Lukachukai Mountains. The ore belt is within a bed of lenticular sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
that apparently provided sufficient permeable sandstone for the passage of ore solutions, and sufficient impermeable mudstone to restrict movement of solutions to particular sandstone beds. An unusual concentration of organic material (carbonized wood?) served as a precipitation agent.