Camelback Mountain | |
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,706 ft (825 m) NAVD 88 [1] |
Prominence | 1,334 ft (407 m) [2] |
Coordinates | 33°30′53″N111°57′42″W / 33.514723847°N 111.961604211°W [1] |
Geography | |
Location | Maricopa County, Arizona, U.S. |
Parent range | Phoenix Mountains |
Topo map | USGS Paradise Valley |
Geology | |
Mountain type | granite, sandstone |
Climbing | |
Easiest route | Echo Canyon trail, Cholla trail |
Camelback Mountain (O'odham : Cew S-wegiom) is a mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The English name is derived from its shape, which resembles the hump and head of a kneeling camel. [3] The mountain, a prominent landmark of the Phoenix metropolitan area, is located in the Camelback Mountain Echo Canyon Recreation Area between the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix and the town of Paradise Valley. It is a popular recreation destination for hiking and rock climbing.
A cave discovered on the north side of Camelback Mountain indicates that it was used as a sacred site by the prehistoric Hohokam culture before they abandoned the area in the 14th century. [4]
In January 1879, United States President Rutherford B. Hayes included Camelback Mountain as part of a one million acre (4,000 km2) reservation for the Salt River Pima and Maricopa American Indian tribes. [5] Six months later, at the behest of Charles Poston, the Arizona Territorial Legislature reversed the decision in order to ensure the primacy of the 5000 non-Indian area residents as well as their continued access to Salt River water. [6]
Efforts to protect Camelback Mountain as a natural preserve began in the early 1910s. However, by the 1960s, nearly all of the area had been sold to private interests. Federal and state authorities attempted to stop development above the one thousand and six hundred feet level. They failed to halt development and in 1963 efforts to arrange a land exchange failed in the Arizona State legislature. In 1965, United States Senator Barry Goldwater took up the cause and helped to secure the higher elevations against development. The area became a Phoenix city park in 1968. [7]
The peak lends its name to a major east-west street in the Phoenix area called Camelback Road that starts in Scottsdale and goes about 34 miles (55 km) west past the West Valley suburbs of Goodyear and Litchfield Park. It starts again past the White Tanks.
Camelback Mountain is designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride. [8]
The mountain is composed of a geologic unconformity between two separate rock formations. The higher part of the peak is Precambrian granite (ca. 1.5 billion years old). The head of the camel is predominantly red sedimentary sandstone from the Chattian stage of the Oligocene epoch (ca. 25 million years old). [9]
Climate data for Camel Back Mountain | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 62.6 (17.0) | 65.8 (18.8) | 73.1 (22.8) | 80.5 (26.9) | 89.5 (31.9) | 99.2 (37.3) | 101.5 (38.6) | 100.5 (38.1) | 95.4 (35.2) | 84.2 (29.0) | 71.5 (21.9) | 61.2 (16.2) | 82.1 (27.8) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 51.8 (11.0) | 54.9 (12.7) | 61.3 (16.3) | 68.2 (20.1) | 77.0 (25.0) | 86.4 (30.2) | 90.5 (32.5) | 89.4 (31.9) | 84.2 (29.0) | 72.4 (22.4) | 60.1 (15.6) | 50.8 (10.4) | 70.6 (21.4) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 41.0 (5.0) | 44.0 (6.7) | 49.5 (9.7) | 55.7 (13.2) | 64.5 (18.1) | 73.6 (23.1) | 79.5 (26.4) | 78.6 (25.9) | 73.1 (22.8) | 60.6 (15.9) | 48.7 (9.3) | 40.3 (4.6) | 59.1 (15.1) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.30 (33) | 1.36 (35) | 1.28 (33) | 0.50 (13) | 0.26 (6.6) | 0.10 (2.5) | 1.00 (25) | 1.37 (35) | 0.88 (22) | 0.83 (21) | 0.83 (21) | 1.24 (31) | 10.95 (278.1) |
Source: PRISM Climate Group [10] |
Two hiking trails ascend 1,280 feet (390 m) to the peak of Camelback Mountain. The Echo Canyon Trail is 1.14 miles (1900 m) and the Cholla Trail is 1.4 mi (2300 m). Both trails are considered strenuous with steep grades. The hiking path has dirt, gravel, boulders, and some handrail-assisted sections. The average hike requires a round trip time of 1.5 to 3 hours. [11]
The Praying Monk is a red sandstone rock formation which is used for rock climbing. Located on the northern slope, the formation resembles the silhouette of a person kneeling in prayer. [12] It rises approximately 100 feet (30 m) and the eastern face has several permanent anchor bolts for attaching a belay rope. [13]
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is in East–Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, and 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of North America's lowest point, Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. The mountain's west slope is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail, which runs 211.9 mi (341.0 km) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. The eastern slopes are in Inyo National Forest in Inyo County. Mount Whitney is ranked 18th by topographic isolation.
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The Phoenix Mountains are a mountain range located in central Phoenix, Arizona. With the exception of Mummy Mountain, they are part of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. They serve as a municipal park and offer hiking, mountain biking and equestrian trails at a variety of different access points.
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To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.