Tonto National Forest

{{Short description|Protected area in Arizona}}

{{more citations needed|date=July 2020}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox protected area

| name = Tonto National Forest

| photo = Desert Foliage And Canyon In Arizona.jpg

| photo_caption =

| image_map = {{maplink-road|from=Tonto National Forest.map}}

| relief = 1

| map_caption =

| location = Gila, Maricopa, Yavapai, and Pinal counties, Arizona, U.S.

| nearest_city = Payson, Arizona

| coordinates = {{coord|33.8|-111.3|region:US-AZ_type:forest|display=inline,title}}

| area_acre = 2873200

| established = 1905

| visitation_num = 5,922,000

| visitation_year = 2005

| governing_body = United States Forest Service

| website = [http://www.fs.usda.gov/tonto Tonto National Forest]

}}

File:A pool of water, a remnant of the last rains, in a dry wash in Tonto National Forest.jpg

File:Pools, Rocks, or Switchbacks?.jpg ]]

The Tonto National Forest, encompassing {{convert|2,873,200|acres|ha km2}}, is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the ninth largest national forest in the United States.{{Cite web |title=Land Areas of the National Forest System |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |date=November 2015 |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/LAR2015/FY2015%20LAR%20Book.pdf |access-date=January 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125100853/http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/LAR2015/FY2015%20LAR%20Book.pdf |archive-date=January 25, 2016 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|publisher=U.S. Forest Service, Tonto National Forest|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/tonto/ |title=Tonto National Forest|access-date=December 8, 2014}} The forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet (427 m) in the Sonoran Desert to 7,400 feet (2,256 m) in the ponderosa pine forests of the Mogollon Rim (pronounced MOH-gee-on, or MUH-gee-own). The Tonto National Forest is also one of the most visited "urban" forests in the United States.{{cite web|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tonto/home/?cid=fsbdev3_018924|title=Tonto National Forest – History and Development|website=fs.usda.gov|publisher=United States Forest Service|access-date=December 8, 2014}}

The boundaries of the Tonto National Forest are the Phoenix metropolitan area to the south, the Mogollon Rim to the north and the San Carlos and Fort Apache Indian Reservation to the east. The Tonto (Spanish for "foolish") is managed by the USDA Forest Service and its headquarters are in Phoenix. There are local ranger district offices in Globe, Mesa, Payson, Roosevelt, Scottsdale, and Young.[http://www.ufwda.org/pdfs/USDAForestServiceRangerDistricts.pdf USFS Ranger Districts by State], ufwda.org; accessed July 8, 2020.

On June 13, 2020, a wildfire ignited in the Tonto Basin area. The Bush Fire, as it was named, burned {{cvt|193455|acres|km2|0}}, becoming Arizona's fifth largest fire on record. The fire was sufficiently contained by July 1, prompting the Incident Management Team to transition control to the Forest Service, which subsequently conducted a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessment to begin rehabilitation efforts. Investigators determined the fire was human-caused.{{Cite web|url=https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6773/|title=Bush Fire| InciWeb|website=inciweb.nwcg.gov}}{{Cite web|url=https://ktar.com/story/2627306/here-are-the-5-largest-wildfires-in-arizona-history/amp/|title=Here are the five largest wildfires in Arizona history|website=ktar.com|date=22 June 2020 }}