Mount Graham

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.T. W. Swetnam and P.M. Brown "Oldest known conifers in the Southwestern United States: Temporal and Spatial patterns of Maximum Age," In M.R. Kaufmann, W.H. Moir, and R.L. Bassett, eds., "Old-Growth Forests in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regions", Proceedings of a Workshop. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RM 213: 24–38 (1992); Henry D. Grissino-Mayer and Harold C. Fritts, "Dendroclimatology and Dendroecology in the Pinaleño Mountains, In Conrad A. Istock and Robert S. Hoffmann, eds., Storm over a Mountain Island: Conservation Biology and the Mt. Graham Affair, pp. 100–20 (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1995).

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 Sí'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.Elizabeth A. Brandt, "The Fight for Dził Nchaa Sí'an, Mt. Graham: Apaches and Astrophysical Development in Arizona," Cultural Survival Quarterly (Winter) 1996: 50–57; John R. Welch, "White Eyes' Lies and the Battle for Dził Nchaa Sí'an," American Indian Quarterly 21 1997: 75–109; Patricia M. Spoerl, Determination of Eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, Mt. Graham (Dził Nchaa Sí'an) Safford Ranger District, Coronado National Forest, Arizona. Prepared under an agreement with the University of Arizona and submitted to the Keeper of the National Register by Coronado National Forest (2001); Mary M. Farrell, "Proposed MGIO Permit Renewal Determination of Effect," Heritage Resources Report 2008-05-076 (Tucson: Coronado National Forest, April 7, 2008).

In 1993, the St. Paisius Orthodox Monastery was founded at the base of the mountain.

Mount Graham hosts both species of Arizona native trout – Gila and Apache trout and three species of introduced trout.{{cite web |url=http://www.eacourier.com/news/mount-graham-may-become-anglers-choice-destination/article_e13c5535-30f0-5276-86e1-e9007d484718.html |title=Mount Graham may become anglers' choice destination |publisher=Eastern Arizona Courier |author=Jon Johnson |date=November 11, 2011 |access-date=July 9, 2014 }}

{{Weather box

|location = Mount Graham 32.7019 N, 109.8738 W, Elevation: {{cvt|10482|ft}} (1991–2020 normals)

|single line = y

|Jan high F = 40.6

|Feb high F = 40.6

|Mar high F = 44.3

|Apr high F = 49.8

|May high F = 58.2

|Jun high F = 68.3

|Jul high F = 68.3

|Aug high F = 66.2

|Sep high F = 62.4

|Oct high F = 55.6

|Nov high F = 47.9

|Dec high F = 41.0

|Jan mean F = 28.8

|Feb mean F = 28.6

|Mar mean F = 32.1

|Apr mean F = 36.8

|May mean F = 44.6

|Jun mean F = 53.7

|Jul mean F = 55.7

|Aug mean F = 54.3

|Sep mean F = 50.2

|Oct mean F = 42.7

|Nov mean F = 35.6

|Dec mean F = 29.3

|Jan low F = 17.0

|Feb low F = 16.6

|Mar low F = 19.8

|Apr low F = 23.7

|May low F = 31.1

|Jun low F = 39.2

|Jul low F = 43.1

|Aug low F = 42.4

|Sep low F = 38.1

|Oct low F = 29.9

|Nov low F = 23.4

|Dec low F = 17.6

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.23

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.43

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.13

|Apr precipitation inch = 1.28

|May precipitation inch = 1.06

|Jun precipitation inch = 0.77

|Jul precipitation inch = 6.21

|Aug precipitation inch = 6.61

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.55

|Oct precipitation inch = 2.80

|Nov precipitation inch = 2.80

|Dec precipitation inch = 3.41

|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web |url=http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |title=PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |publisher=PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |access-date=September 30, 2023 |quote=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. |archive-date=July 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725164937/http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |url-status=live }}

}}

Image:Large Binocular Telescope 2.jpg of the Mount Graham International Observatory on Mount Graham, 2004]]

Mount Graham is home to the Mount Graham International Observatory area, where multiple organizations have set up large telescopes in a few separate observatories authorized by a rare peace-time Congressional waiver of U.S. environmental laws."100th Congress": [https://www.congress.gov/100/statute/STATUTE-102/STATUTE-102-Pg4571.pdf "Public law 100-696"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407124701/https://www.congress.gov/100/statute/STATUTE-102/STATUTE-102-Pg4571.pdf |date=April 7, 2023 }} Retrieved on April 7, 2023

The United States Congress authorized construction of the 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.

{{stack|{{portal|Arizona|Mountains}}}}

• List of mountains in Arizona
• List of the most prominent summits of the United States
• Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope
• Large Binocular Telescope
• Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope

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{{commons category|Mount Graham}}

• {{cite gnis |id=5204 |name=Mount Graham}}
• {{cite summitpost |id=154191 |name=Mount Graham}}
• [http://mgio.arizona.edu/ "Mount Graham International Observatory home page"]. University of Arizona.
• [http://www.mountgraham.org/ "Mount Graham Coalition"]. an advocacy group.

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{{Mountains of Arizona}}

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Category:Mountains of Arizona

Mount Graham

Mount Graham

Mount Graham

Category:Mountains of Graham County, Arizona

Category:Religious places of the Indigenous peoples of North America

Category:Sacred mountains of the United States