Mount Graham
Encyclopedia
Mount Graham is a mountain
in southeastern Arizona
in the United States
, in the Coronado National Forest
. It is the highest mountain in the Pinaleño Mountains
. As the name "Mount Graham" is often used by locals to refer to the entire mountain range, the peak itself is frequently referred to as "High Peak". The mountain reaches 10720 feet (3,267 m) in height, attaining the highest elevation in Graham County
. It is twentieth of the 57 ultra prominent peak
s of the lower 48 states, and the first of the five in Arizona.
Mount Graham summits are headwaters for numerous perennial streams that tumble through five major botanical zones. Located between the southern Rocky Mountains
and Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental
, and biologically isolated for millennia, the higher elevations have provided refuge for relict populations of plants and animals with adaptive strategies rooted in Pleistocene ice age environmental conditions. Of particular note are stands of the oldest conifer trees in the U.S. Southwest and associated habitats for threatened and endangered species, especially the Mount Graham Red Squirrel
.
Located near the northern limit of the Chiricahua Apache homeland and the southern margins of Western Apache territory, the range is one of the Western Apache’s four holiest mountains and is considered sacred by all of the region's Native peoples. Since a determination by the Keeper of the Register in 2002, Dził Nchaa Si An, as it is known in the Western Apache language, ranks as the largest and most extensive (~330,000 acres) property listed on or formally determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1993, the St. Paisius Orthodox Monastery
was founded at the base of the mountain.
In 2009, Mt. Graham became the only place on Earth with five species of trout living on the mountain.
Mount Graham, with some of the clearest skies in the world, is home to the Mount Graham International Observatory
area, where multiple organizations have set up large telescope
s in a few separate observatories
authorized by a rare peace-time Congressional waiver of U.S. environmental laws.
The United States Congress
authorized construction of observatories on the mountain in 1988, but there has been outcry from the four federally recognized tribes of the Western Apache Nation and Native American
groups, who consider the site to be sacred
. Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club
also oppose the Mount Graham International Observatory because the higher elevations are the last remaining habitat for the Mount Graham Red Squirrel.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in southeastern Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in the Coronado National Forest
Coronado National Forest
The Coronado National Forest includes an area of about 1.78 million acres spread throughout mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico....
. It is the highest mountain in the Pinaleño Mountains
Pinaleno Mountains
The Pinaleño Mountains, or the Pinal Mountains, are a remote mountain range in southeastern Arizona. They have over of vertical relief, more than any other range in the state. The mountains are surrounded by the Sonoran-Chihuahuan Desert. Subalpine forests cover the higher elevations...
. As the name "Mount Graham" is often used by locals to refer to the entire mountain range, the peak itself is frequently referred to as "High Peak". The mountain reaches 10720 feet (3,267 m) in height, attaining the highest elevation in Graham County
Graham County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.1% White*1.8% Black*14.4% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*8.3% Other races*30.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
. It is twentieth of the 57 ultra prominent peak
Ultra prominent peak
An ultra prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a mountain with a topographic prominence of or more. There are a total of roughly 1,524 such peaks in the world. Some are famous even to non-climbers, such as Mount Everest, Aconcagua, and Mount McKinley , while others are much more obscure...
s of the lower 48 states, and the first of the five in Arizona.
Mount Graham summits are headwaters for numerous perennial streams that tumble through five major botanical zones. Located between the southern Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
and Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.-Setting:The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins...
, and biologically isolated for millennia, the higher elevations have provided refuge for relict populations of plants and animals with adaptive strategies rooted in Pleistocene ice age environmental conditions. Of particular note are stands of the oldest conifer trees in the U.S. Southwest and associated habitats for threatened and endangered species, especially the Mount Graham Red Squirrel
Mount Graham Red Squirrel
The Mount Graham Red Squirrel is an endangered subspecies of the American Red Squirrel native to the Pinaleño Mountains of Arizona. It is smaller than most other subspecies of Red Squirrel, and also does not have the white-fringed tail that is common to the species...
.
Located near the northern limit of the Chiricahua Apache homeland and the southern margins of Western Apache territory, the range is one of the Western Apache’s four holiest mountains and is considered sacred by all of the region's Native peoples. Since a determination by the Keeper of the Register in 2002, Dził Nchaa Si An, as it is known in the Western Apache language, ranks as the largest and most extensive (~330,000 acres) property listed on or formally determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1993, the St. Paisius Orthodox Monastery
St. Paisius Orthodox Monastery
St. Paisius Orthodox Monastery is a women’s coenobitic community which follows the traditional rule of monastic life. The monastery was founded in 1993 and is dedicated to St...
was founded at the base of the mountain.
In 2009, Mt. Graham became the only place on Earth with five species of trout living on the mountain.
Mount Graham Observatory
Mount Graham International Observatory
Mount Graham International Observatory is a division of Steward Observatory the research arm for the Department of Astronomy at The University of Arizona. It is located in southeast Arizona's Pinaleno Mountains near Mount Graham....
area, where multiple organizations have set up large telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
s in a few separate observatories
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
authorized by a rare peace-time Congressional waiver of U.S. environmental laws.
The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
authorized construction of observatories on the mountain in 1988, but there has been outcry from the four federally recognized tribes of the Western Apache Nation and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
groups, who consider the site to be sacred
Sacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
. Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
also oppose the Mount Graham International Observatory because the higher elevations are the last remaining habitat for the Mount Graham Red Squirrel.
See also
- Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter TelescopeHeinrich Hertz Submillimeter TelescopeThe Submillimeter Telescope , formerly known as the Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope, is a submillimeter wavelength radio telescope located on Mount Graham, Arizona. It is a 10-meter-wide parabolic dish inside a building to protect it from bad weather. The building front doors and roof are...
- Large Binocular TelescopeLarge Binocular TelescopeLarge Binocular Telescope is an optical telescope for astronomy located on Mount Graham in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona, and is a part of the Mount Graham International Observatory...
- Mountain peaks of North AmericaMountain peaks of North AmericaThis article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of greater North America.This article defines greater North America as the portion of the continental landmass of the Americas extending northward from Panama plus the islands surrounding that landmass...
- Mountain peaks of the United StatesMountain peaks of the United StatesThis article comprises three sortable tables of the major mountain peaks of the United States of America.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
- Vatican Advanced Technology TelescopeVatican Advanced Technology TelescopeThe Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, aka the VATT, is a 1.8 meter Gregorian telescope observing in the optical and infrared. It is part of the Mount Graham International Observatory. It is situated on Mount Graham in southeast Arizona, and it achieved 'first light', the first starlight to...