Sierra Prieta
{{Short description|Landform in Yavapai County, Arizona}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox mountain range
| name = Sierra Prieta
| photo =Thumb Butte.jpg
| photo_size = 295px
| photo_caption =Thumb Butte, at Prescott's west side
| country = United States
| subdivision1 = Arizona
| subdivision2_type = Region
| subdivision2 = Arizona transition zone
| subdivision3 = Yavapai
| subdivision3_type =County
| settlement = {{enum|Prescott|Skull Valley|Iron Springs|Highland Pines|Williamson Valley}}
| settlement_type =Communities
| range_coordinates = {{coord|34.538|N|112.59|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| topo_map =
| topo_maker =
| geology =
| borders_on = {{enum|Skull Valley|Santa Maria Mountains|Chino Valley|Williamson Valley|Lonesome Valley|Prescott, Arizona|Bradshaw Mountains|Weaver Mountains}}
| orogeny =
| length_mi =16
| length_orientation= NW-SE
| width_mi =
| width_orientation =
| highest = Granite Mountain
| highest_location =
| elevation_m =
| elevation_ft = 7626
| coordinates = {{coord|34|38|26|N|112|34|35|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline}}
| map =Arizona
| map_caption = Sierra Prieta in Arizona
}}
The Sierra Prieta is a {{convert|14|mi|km|0|}} longArizona Road & Recreation Atlas, Benchmark Maps, c. 1998, pp. 74–75. mountain range in central-northwest Arizona. The range is the mountainous region west of Prescott, with prominent Thumb Butte, {{convert|6514|ft|m|0|}}, a volcanic plug, on the city's west perimeter.
The range is attached to the northwest of the Bradshaw Mountains, and Granite Mountain, a recreation site, as well as a rockclimbing location, is part of the range's northeast section, overlooking Williamson Valley, further northeast.
The Sierra Prieta range is adjacent the northwest perimeter of the Arizona transition zone, mostly known by its perimeter Mogollon Rim.
Description
Sierra Prieta is a mostly northwest by southeast section of mountains. The highest peak in the south is Mount Francis, {{convert|7110|ft|m|0|}}, which borders the Bradshaw Mountains; Arizona State Route 89 traverses between the two mountain ranges.
The range highpoint is Granite Mountain, {{convert|7626|ft|m|0|}}, anchoring the range's N & NNE; it is separated from the central section by Little Granite Mountain, {{convert|7082|ft|m|0|}} to the southwest, and by Tonto Mountain, {{convert|5631|ft|m|0|}}, which is due west. Two other peaks form the range's center, West Spruce Mountain, {{convert|7160|ft|m|0|}}, and Williams Peak, {{convert|7055|ft|m|0|}}.
=Routes=
Besides Arizona 89 going southwest from Prescott between the Bradshaw Mountains, County 10 rises to Iron Springs, (Iron Springs Pass) in the range's north. It is often used as a shorter route through the lower elevation Skull Valley during winter snowstorms.
File:Prescottscenic.jpg|Northerly view of Thumb Butte, Granite Mountain massif, and S & W Prescott.
(The Sierra Prieta is to the photo-left.)
= Notable =
The Sierra Prieta range is known in cowboy camps around the world as "The Sierry Petes" a colloquial and period pronunciation of the name made famous in the cowboy poem by the same name but more widely known as "Tyin' A Knot In The Devil's Tail" by Arizonan, Gail Gardner.[http://www.cowboypoetry.com/gardner.htm#poem Gail I. Gardner on Cowboy Poetry website]
References
{{Reflist}}
- Lucchitta, 2001. Hiking Arizona's Geology; Part 2, Arizona Transition Zone, Graphic, w/text, Hikes 18–26. Ivo Lucchitta, c 2001, Mountaineers's Books. 272 pages, 41 Hikes. (Transition zone: Hikes 18–26, p. 143–182.) (softcover, {{ISBN|0-89886-730-4}})
External links
- [http://www.summitpost.org/west-spruce-mountain/712022 West Spruce Mountain, summitpost, (coordinates)]
{{Mountains of Arizona}}
Category:Arizona transition zone mountain ranges
Category:Mountain ranges of Yavapai County, Arizona