Pajarito Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Pajarito Mountains are a small mountain range of western Santa Cruz County
, Arizona
. The range is adjacent the Atascosa Mountains
at its north, with both ranges in the center of a north-south sequence of ranges called the Tumacacori Highlands. The Highlands have the Tumacacori Mountains at the north, and south of the U.S.-Mexico border, the Sierra La Esmeralda
range, (the Emerald Mountains). The Tumacacori Highlands are part of a regional conservancy study of 'travel corridors' for cats, called Cuatros Gatos, Four Cats, for mountain lions, ocelot
, bobcat
, and jaguar
.
The lower elevation Cerro Colorado Mountains
to the northwest, and the San Luis Mountains
, west are also part of the Highlands region. At the west of the Pajarito's and adjacent to the San Luis range, and Cobre Ridge peaks, is the Pajarito Wilderness. East of the Highlands is the Santa Cruz River Valley corridor.
; the peak is at the headwaters of Calabasas and Pesquiera Canyons. In the west of the range at the Pajarito Wilderness, a water divide
makes some drainages flow south into northern Sonora
. The other drainages flow northeast to the Santa Cruz River, or northwest to the north-flowing Altar Valley
. Cobre Ridge at the northwest merges into the southwest San Luis Mountains, and the peaks of Cobre Ridge range from Black Peak, 5086 feet (1,550 m) in the northwest, Cobre Mountain, then Bartlett Mountain, 4107 feet (1,252 m) and Flat Top Mountain, 4222 feet (1,287 m) at the west of the Pajarito Wilderness.
Nogales
, Arizona and Nogales
, Sonora lie at the eastern foothills of the range in the upper region of the north-south Santa Cruz River Valley, and in the I-17
corridor.
Pena Blanca Lake is a mountainous getaway site, about 8 mi on Ruby Road from I-19. Ruby Road continues about 25 miles, much on unimproved surfaces, through the mountains to the area of the ghost town
site of Ruby, Arizona
, just northwest of the Pajarito Wilderness, and east of Cobre Ridge, and then loops back eastward to I-19 at Amado.
Two common trails of the mountain area are the Atascosa Lookout, and the Sycamore Canyon Trail, (for the Arizona Sycamore, Platanus wrightii
). As part of southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico
, Sonora and northwest Chihuahua's Madrean Sky Islands
, mountainous sky island
region, birdwatching
finds these mountain sites as prime locales for bird species ranging north out of the Sierra Madre Occidental
cordillera. (One sought after example is the Elegant Trogon
species.)
The highest peak, Pajarito Peak is located at 31.35149°N 111.09954°W.
County, Arizona. The Highlands are northwest of Nogales
and are bordered on the east by the Santa Cruz River Valley, that is traversed north-south by I-19
. Across the valley eastwards are the tall Santa Rita Mountains
in the northeast, and the smaller San Cayetano Mountains, east and adjacent to Nogales's northeast. The sequence of the north-to-south Tumacacori Highlands is as follows:
North-to-South:
A Santa Cruz county-border "bootheel" extends southwest; the bootheel contains Cobre Ridge, and it is connected northwest to a small range, the San Luis Mountains
which are in the southeast of the Altar Valley
, and borders the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
.
Historical mission communities, at Tumacacori National Historical Park
, in Tumacacori, Arizona lie at the southeast foothills of the Tumacacori Mountains.
----
Nature
Santa Cruz County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.5% White*0.4% Black*0.7% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*22.9% Other races*82.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, 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...
. The range is adjacent the Atascosa Mountains
Atascosa Mountains
The Atascosa Mountains are a small mountain range of western Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It is sandwiched between the larger Tumacacori Mountains to the north, and a small east-west border range to the south, the Pajarito Mountains; the Pajaritos are on the U.S.-Mexico border and abut the Sierra La...
at its north, with both ranges in the center of a north-south sequence of ranges called the Tumacacori Highlands. The Highlands have the Tumacacori Mountains at the north, and south of the U.S.-Mexico border, the Sierra La Esmeralda
Sierra La Esmeralda
The Sierra La Esmeralda range, are a mountain range in northern Sonora, Mexico at the northern region of the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera...
range, (the Emerald Mountains). The Tumacacori Highlands are part of a regional conservancy study of 'travel corridors' for cats, called Cuatros Gatos, Four Cats, for mountain lions, ocelot
Ocelot
The ocelot , pronounced /ˈɒsəˌlɒt/, also known as the dwarf leopard or McKenney's wildcat is a wild cat distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean...
, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, and jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
.
The lower elevation Cerro Colorado Mountains
Cerro Colorado Mountains
The Cerro Colorado Mountains are a low mountain range in Pima County, Arizona, USA. The highest point of the range is at the Colorado Benchmark , at ....
to the northwest, and the San Luis Mountains
San Luis Mountains
The San Luis Mountains are a small, lower elevation mountain range of central-southern Pima County Arizona adjacent the U.S.-Mexico border, northeast of Sasabe, Arizona–Sasabe, Sonora....
, west are also part of the Highlands region. At the west of the Pajarito's and adjacent to the San Luis range, and Cobre Ridge peaks, is the Pajarito Wilderness. East of the Highlands is the Santa Cruz River Valley corridor.
Range specifics
The highest peak in the range is Pajarito Peak at 5236 feet (1,596 m) due south of Pena Blanca LakePeña Blanca Lake
Peña Blanca Lake is a reservoir in Arizona, United States, located northwest of Nogales. The facilities are maintained by the Coronado National Forest division of the USDA Forest Service....
; the peak is at the headwaters of Calabasas and Pesquiera Canyons. In the west of the range at the Pajarito Wilderness, a water divide
Water divide
A drainage divide, water divide, divide or watershed is the line separating neighbouring drainage basins...
makes some drainages flow south into northern Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
. The other drainages flow northeast to the Santa Cruz River, or northwest to the north-flowing Altar Valley
Altar Valley
The Altar Valley is a 45-mile long north-south valley, trending slightly northeast from Sasabe, Arizona on the Mexico border to the Avra Valley, Arizona west of the Tucson Mountains...
. Cobre Ridge at the northwest merges into the southwest San Luis Mountains, and the peaks of Cobre Ridge range from Black Peak, 5086 feet (1,550 m) in the northwest, Cobre Mountain, then Bartlett Mountain, 4107 feet (1,252 m) and Flat Top Mountain, 4222 feet (1,287 m) at the west of the Pajarito Wilderness.
Nogales
Nogales, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....
, Arizona and Nogales
Nogales, Sonora
Heroica Nogales , more commonly known as Nogales, is a city and its surrounding municipality on the northern border of the Mexican State of Sonora. The municipality covers an area of 1,675 km², and borders to the north the city of Nogales, Arizona, United States, across the U.S.-Mexico border...
, Sonora lie at the eastern foothills of the range in the upper region of the north-south Santa Cruz River Valley, and in the I-17
Interstate 17
Interstate 17 , also known as the Black Canyon Freeway, is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the state of Arizona, United States. I-17's southern terminus lies within Phoenix, at Interstate 10, and its northern terminus is in Flagstaff, at Interstate 40...
corridor.
Pena Blanca Lake is a mountainous getaway site, about 8 mi on Ruby Road from I-19. Ruby Road continues about 25 miles, much on unimproved surfaces, through the mountains to the area of the ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
site of Ruby, Arizona
Ruby, Arizona
Ruby is a ghost town in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. It was founded as a mining town in Bear Valley, originally named Montana Camp, so named because the miners were mining at the foot of Montana Peak.-History:...
, just northwest of the Pajarito Wilderness, and east of Cobre Ridge, and then loops back eastward to I-19 at Amado.
Two common trails of the mountain area are the Atascosa Lookout, and the Sycamore Canyon Trail, (for the Arizona Sycamore, Platanus wrightii
Platanus wrightii
Platanus wrightii , is a sycamore tree native to Arizona and New Mexico with its range extending south into Sonora, and a small area of Chihuahua Mexico....
). As part of southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Sonora and northwest Chihuahua's Madrean Sky Islands
Madrean sky islands
The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine-oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are surrounded at lower elevations by the Sonoran and...
, mountainous sky island
Sky island
Sky islands are mountains that are isolated by surrounding lowlands of a dramatically different environment, a situation which, in combination with the altitudinal zonation of ecosystems, has significant implications for natural habitats. Endemism, vertical migration, and relict populations are...
region, birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
finds these mountain sites as prime locales for bird species ranging north out of the 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...
cordillera. (One sought after example is the Elegant Trogon
Elegant Trogon
The Elegant Trogon, Trogon elegans , is a near passerine bird in the trogon family. It breeds from southeasternmost Arizona in the United States to northwestern Costa Rica. It occasionally is found as a vagrant in southeasternmost and western Texas.It is a resident of the lower levels of semi-arid...
species.)
The highest peak, Pajarito Peak is located at 31.35149°N 111.09954°W.
The "Tumacacori Highlands"
The Tumacacori Highlands is a series of connected mountain ranges in western Santa CruzSanta Cruz County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.5% White*0.4% Black*0.7% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*22.9% Other races*82.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
County, Arizona. The Highlands are northwest of Nogales
Nogales, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....
and are bordered on the east by the Santa Cruz River Valley, that is traversed north-south by I-19
Interstate 19
Interstate 19 is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the state of Arizona. I-19 runs from Nogales, roughly 1,500 feet from the Mexican border, to Tucson, at Interstate 10...
. Across the valley eastwards are the tall Santa Rita Mountains
Santa Rita Mountains
The Santa Rita Mountains, located about 65 km southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Patagonia Mountains, trending northwest by southeast...
in the northeast, and the smaller San Cayetano Mountains, east and adjacent to Nogales's northeast. The sequence of the north-to-south Tumacacori Highlands is as follows:
North-to-South:
-
- –Tumacacori Mountains
- –Peck Canyon–(Peck Canyon Road)
- –Atascosa MountainsAtascosa MountainsThe Atascosa Mountains are a small mountain range of western Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It is sandwiched between the larger Tumacacori Mountains to the north, and a small east-west border range to the south, the Pajarito Mountains; the Pajaritos are on the U.S.-Mexico border and abut the Sierra La...
-(6 mi x 9 mi) - –Ruby Road-(to Ruby, ArizonaRuby, ArizonaRuby is a ghost town in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. It was founded as a mining town in Bear Valley, originally named Montana Camp, so named because the miners were mining at the foot of Montana Peak.-History:...
); Pena Blanca LakePeña Blanca LakePeña Blanca Lake is a reservoir in Arizona, United States, located northwest of Nogales. The facilities are maintained by the Coronado National Forest division of the USDA Forest Service.... - –Pajarito Mountains
- –Mexico-Arizona border
- –Sierra La EsmeraldaSierra La EsmeraldaThe Sierra La Esmeralda range, are a mountain range in northern Sonora, Mexico at the northern region of the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera...
-(the Emerald Mountains)
A Santa Cruz county-border "bootheel" extends southwest; the bootheel contains Cobre Ridge, and it is connected northwest to a small range, the San Luis Mountains
San Luis Mountains
The San Luis Mountains are a small, lower elevation mountain range of central-southern Pima County Arizona adjacent the U.S.-Mexico border, northeast of Sasabe, Arizona–Sasabe, Sonora....
which are in the southeast of the Altar Valley
Altar Valley
The Altar Valley is a 45-mile long north-south valley, trending slightly northeast from Sasabe, Arizona on the Mexico border to the Avra Valley, Arizona west of the Tucson Mountains...
, and borders the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge provides of habitat for threatened and endangered plants and animals. The refuge was established in 1985.-Natural history:...
.
Historical mission communities, at Tumacacori National Historical Park
Tumacácori National Historical Park
Tumacácori National Historical Park is located in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arizona. The park protects the ruins of three Spanish mission communities, two of which are National Historic Landmark sites, and it also contains the Tumacácori Museum, a historic landmark building...
, in Tumacacori, Arizona lie at the southeast foothills of the Tumacacori Mountains.
External links
----
Nature
- from "BirderNaturalist", Bartolo Canyon, Atascosa Mountains
- http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2008/12/23/elegant-trogon/Elegant Trogon locales: HuachucaHuachuca MountainsThe Huachuca Mountain range is part of the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest. The Huachuca Mountains are located in Cochise County, Arizona approximately south-southeast of Tucson and southwest of the city of Sierra Vista, Arizona...
, AtascosaAtascosa MountainsThe Atascosa Mountains are a small mountain range of western Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It is sandwiched between the larger Tumacacori Mountains to the north, and a small east-west border range to the south, the Pajarito Mountains; the Pajaritos are on the U.S.-Mexico border and abut the Sierra La...
, PatagoniaPatagonia MountainsThe Patagonia Mountains is a 15 mile long mountain range south of the Santa Rita Mountains. Sonoita Creek flows in the valley north of the Patagonias. Both ranges are east of the Santa Cruz River Valley...
, Santa RitaSanta Rita MountainsThe Santa Rita Mountains, located about 65 km southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Patagonia Mountains, trending northwest by southeast...
, ChiricahuaChiricahua MountainsThe Chiricahua Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Arizona which are part of the Basin and Range province of the southwest, and part of the Coronado National Forest...
, and Pajarito Mountains]