The Phoenix Metropolitan Area – also the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, or Metro Phoenix – is the largest metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States, centered on the city of Phoenix, that includes much of the central part of Arizona. The United States Office of Management and Budget designates the area as the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), defining it as Maricopa and Pinal counties. As of the 2020 census, Metro Phoenix had 4,845,832 residents, making it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the nation by population. The gross domestic product of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area was $255 billion in 2018, 16th largest amongst metro areas in the United States.
Arizona State Route 51 (SR 51), also known as the Piestewa Freeway, is a numbered state highway in Phoenix, Arizona. It connects Interstate 10 just outside Downtown Phoenix with Loop 101 on the north side of Phoenix, making it one of the area's major freeways. It is a largely north–south route and is known for traversing the Piestewa Peak Recreation Area. The peak was named after Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat in the U.S. Military. Prior to this time, the freeway was known as the Squaw Peak Parkway, a name considered offensive by many Native Americans. Rapid growth and increased traffic demand on the east side of Metro Phoenix made the Piestewa Freeway necessary.
South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona is the largest municipal park in the United States, and one of the largest urban parks in North America and in the world. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.
The South Mountains, known locally as simply South Mountain, is a mountain range in central Arizona in south Phoenix, Arizona. It is on public land managed by the city of Phoenix as South Mountain Park.
Camelback Mountain 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. 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.
The Sierra Estrella is a mountain range located southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Much of the range falls within the Gila River Indian Reservation, but 14,400 acres (5,800 ha) of BLM land is protected as the Sierra Estrella Wilderness.
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.
The White Tank Mountain Regional Park is a large regional park located in west-central Maricopa County, Arizona. Encompassing 29,271 acres of desert and mountain landscape, it is the largest regional park in the county. The bulk of the White Tank Mountains range is located within the park's boundaries.
Piestewa Peak, at 2,610 feet (796 m) is the second highest point in the Phoenix Mountains, after Camelback Mountain, and the third highest in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. It is located in the Piestewa Peak Recreation Area within the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, near Piestewa Parkway. Piestewa Peak is named in honor of Army Spc. Lori Ann Piestewa, the first known Native American woman to die in combat in the U.S. military, and the first female soldier to be killed in action in the 2003 Iraq War.
The McDowell Mountain Range is located about twenty miles northeast of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and may be seen from most places throughout the city. The range is composed of miocene deposits left nearly five million years ago. The McDowells share borders with the cities of Fountain Hills, Scottsdale, and Maricopa County. The city of Scottsdale has made its share of the McDowells a preserve, and has set up a wide trail network in partnership with the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy. The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy was established in 1991. The highest peak in the McDowells is East End, at 4,069 feet (1,240 m). This mountain range also serves as a sacred marker to the Yavapai people. The boundaries of the range are generally defined by Saddleback Mountain in the South and Granite Mountain as the Northern boundary. The McDowells also comprise popular landmarks such as Pinnacle Peak and Tom's Thumb.
The Mazatzal Mountains are a mountain range in south central Arizona, about 30–45 miles northeast of Phoenix and the Phoenix metropolitan area. The origin of the name remains obscure but one possibility is that it is from the Nahuatl language meaning "place of the deer". The crest of the Mazatzals forms the county line between Maricopa County and Gila County. SR 87, the Beeline Highway, traverses the Mazatzals on its way to Payson. The highest peak is Mazatzal Peak at 7,903 feet (2,409 m). They also include the Four Peaks, with elevation 7,659 ft, 2,334 m; a prominent mountain and landmark of the eastern Phoenix area.
Arizona is a landlocked state situated in the southwestern region of the United States of America. It has a vast and diverse geography famous for its deep canyons, high- and low-elevation deserts, numerous natural rock formations, and volcanic mountain ranges. Arizona shares land borders with Utah to the north, the Mexican state of Sonora to the south, New Mexico to the east, and Nevada to the northwest, as well as water borders with California and the Mexican state of Baja California to the southwest along the Colorado River. Arizona is also one of the Four Corners states and is diagonally adjacent to Colorado.
The Maricopa Trail is a 315 miles (507 km) trail located within Maricopa County connecting the major regional and municipal parks in and around the Phoenix metropolitan area. A loop trail encircling much of the urbanized area, the trail also consists of four spurs that will connect the loop with outlying mountain parks in the region.
The Gila Bend Mountains are a 35-mile (56 km) long mountain range of the north-central Sonoran Desert southwest of Phoenix, Arizona and in southwest Maricopa County.
The Belmont Mountains are a 25 mi (40 km) long, arid, low elevation mountain range about 50 mi west of Phoenix, Arizona in the northern Sonoran Desert, north of the Gila River. The range is in the south of a region of two parallel washes; the Bouse Wash flows northwest to the Colorado River, and the Centennial Wash flows southeast to meet the Gila River.
The New River Mountains are a small 14-mi (23 km) long, mountain range in central Arizona, and on the north border of the Phoenix valley; the range is located on the southwest perimeter of the Arizona transition zone. The range is a sub-part of landforms extending south from the Black Hills of Yavapai County. Rivers and canyons border east and west; the south of the range is located in Maricopa County, the location of much of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The Daisy Mountain Potential Preserve is a 6 square miles (16 km2) undeveloped Arizona State Trust Land area straddling the communities of Anthem, Desert Hills, northern area of Phoenix and New River Arizona, open to the public if they have a State Land Department Recreation Permit. Residents of the surrounding area enjoy hiking, horse back riding, photography, bicycling, birding, and other recreational activities within the potential preserve. Motorized vehicles are restricted by Arizona State Trust Land and Maricopa County Dust regulations. There is no water due to limited precipitation over the desert landscape, though intermittent or seasonal washes do exist. There are no designated trails although the Maricopa County Regional Trail's Anthem Trailhead is near-by and a number of informal trails providing paths exist and can be used by mountain bikers, hikers and horse-riders. Plant life consists mostly of cacti and dry shrubbery. A portion of the potential preserve seems to be limited to residents of the Anthem Country Club only, though there is a county easement from the Maricopa County Regional Trail through the Country Club to the Daisy Mountain Arizona State Trust land. Visitors are encouraged to use their judgement as to avoid intrusion onto Country Club property.
Lookout Mountain Preserve is a municipal park in the northern part of Phoenix, Arizona. It is supervised and maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Phoenix as part of the Phoenix Mountains Preserve system of parks. The preserve offers scenic vistas and trails for hiking and mountain biking.
San Tan Mountains Regional Park is a large rural/suburban park located in Pinal County. Although the park is administered by Maricopa County Parks, it is located within Pinal County. It encompasses over 10,000 acres and preserves a portion of the San Tan Mountains, south of Queen Creek.
