Recently I was thinking about Arizona’s mountain ranges. As you may already know, there are 193 of them, and since I felt I was in a position to be able to discuss them with some authority, I’m writing this piece to share my thoughts with you about some of their features.

Arizona covers a fair bit of area, 113,998 square miles, to be exact. It’s the sixth-largest state in the US in terms of area, and is about the size of Italy. Its highest mountains don’t compare with those of several other mountain states, but where Arizona shines is in the large number of actual peaks it contains. There are, within its borders, a whopping 7,515 peaks with at least 300 feet of prominence (which is the standard used here in the US to define a peak). Only 2 other states can boast more peaks – Alaska and California. Our state has so many peaks, in fact, that it would be hard for any one climber to climb them all in a lifetime. About 3,000 of them is the most any climber has ever done.

Our mountain ranges come in a wide variety of flavors. Quite a few boast unclimbed peaks – in fact, one major website, Lists of John, indicates that there are around 1,500 peaks in the state that haven’t been climbed. Many of those are on restricted land, such as military ranges or Indian reservations, where angels fear to tread, but there are also a lot on land that is perfectly legal for anyone to visit.

As you ponder the list of Arizona’s ranges, it is obvious that trying to climb just the highest point of each range is a massive project. It takes the average climber about 4 years to complete the entire list (it has only been done by 6 individuals). I put 33,000 miles and a huge amount of wear and tear on my truck to finish the project. Completing it will have you visiting many different environments, from the hottest deserts to lofty forests, and will help you appreciate how varied these mountain ranges are.

A number of them are tiny, in the sense that there is only a single peak in the entire range. In some cases, you wonder why they even bothered to call it a range. The ones that fall into this category are: Buck Mountains; Casa Grande Mountains; Connell Mountains; Crooked Mountains; Diablo Mountains; Grayback Mountains; John the Baptist Mountains; Little Buckskin Mountains; McCloud Mountains; Moquith Mountains; San Francisco Mountain (included as a courtesy because it includes the state’s highest peak); Sawmill Mountains; Yon Dot Mountains. Thirteen of them all told.

The next category I tabulated was the one with either 2 or 3 peaks in the range. There were quite a few of those – 23 to be exact. That group is as follows: Agua Caliente Mountains; Big Lue Mountains; Blackjack Mountains; Brownell Mountains; Gakolik Mountains; Hayes Mountains; Hobble Mountains; Laguna Mountains; McAllister Range; Natanes Mountains; Pozo Verde Mountains; Quijotoa Mountains; Salt River Mountains; San Cayetano Mountains; San Francisco Mountains; Sevenmile Mountains; Sheridan Mountains; Sierra Blanca; Sierra de la Lechuguilla; Sierra de la Nariz; Sonoyta Mountains; Suizo Mountains; Usery Mountains.

Before going any further, I should explain that the methods of determining the height of a mountain are undergoing changes. Something called LiDAR, a type of laser technology, is being used to much more accurately measure the height of mountains. As a result, some are being elevated to the status of full-fledged peaks, while others are being demoted. It may be a long while before all areas have been examined with LiDAR. In the meantime, I have included in my counts the mountains that are possibly full-fledged, or ranked, peaks, until proven otherwise.

The next group I put together was the one where a range had either 4 or 5 peaks. There were 13 peaks in this group, as follows: Buckhorn Mountains; Butler Mountains; Coyote Mountains; La Lesna Mountains; Middle Mountains; Moccasin Mountains; Palo Verde Mountains; Quinlan Mountains; Sierra Prieta; Sierra de Santa Rosa; Silver Reef Mountains; South Mountains; Summit Mountains.

Next, I expanded things a bit, so my next group was ranges that had anywhere from 6 to 9 peaks each. I found 21 of them, and they were these: Alvarez Mountains; Artesa Mountains; Batamote Mountains; Bryan Mountains; Cerro Colorado Mountains; Cimarron Mountains; Guadalupe Mountains; Las Guijas Mountains; Little Ajo Mountains; Little Dragoon Mountains; Lukachukai Mountains; Mescal Mountains; Mohon Mountains; Mustang Mountains; Pajarito Mountains; Pozo Redondo Mountains; Santa Maria Mountains; Silver Bell Mountains; Tortilla Mountains; Tunitcha Mountains; Virgin Mountains.

Now, how about a group of ranges with anywhere from 10 to 19 peaks each. This turns out to be the biggest group of all, by far. In fact, fully a quarter of all of Arizona’s mountain ranges fall into this category, a whopping 53 of them. There are some real doozies in this group, and after I list them I will comment on a few of my favorites. Here we go: Águila Mountains; Artillery Mountains; Beaver Dam Mountains; Bill Williams Mountains; Black Mountains; Carrizo Mountains; Castle Mountains; Chuksa Mountains; Copper Mountains; Cottonwood Mountains; Crater Range; Date Creek Mountains; Dripping Springs Mountains; Empire Mountains; Granite Wash Mountains; Juniper Mountains; McCracken Mountains; McDowell Mountains; Mesquite Mountains; Muggins Mountains; Music Mountains; New River Mountains; New Water Mountains; North Comobabi Mountains; Painted Rock Mountains; Palomas Mountains; Peacock Mountains; Perilla Mountains; Picacho Mountains; Poachie Range; Puerto Blanco Mountains; Rincon Mountains; Sacaton Mountains; San Luis Mountains; Santa Rosa Mountains; Sawtooth Mountains; Sierra Ancha; Sierrita Mountains; Sikort Chuapo Mountains; Slate Mountains; South Comobabi Mountains; Superstition Mountains; Swisshelm Mountains; Table Top Mountains; Tat Momoli Mountains; Tortolita Mountains; Tule Mountains; Uinkaret Mountains; Vekol Mountains; Waterman Mountains; West Silverbell Mountains; Whitlock Mountains; Wickenburg Mountains.

Some of the ranges are very accessible, close to or within city limits. Others are in high forested country (yes, Arizona has plenty of forests! In fact, the largest ponderosa pine forest in the country is right here in our state.) But as you might also guess, many of our mountain ranges are located in low, hot deserts, in places where you don’t want to tempt fate in 120-degree summer temperatures. Many in that group are in restricted areas where the public is not allowed to go, such as parts of the military bombing range, necessitating stealth climbs. Some of our desert ranges are in very remote places where help may be non-existent if you run into trouble.

During our count, we now see that the next group, ranges with from 20 to 29 peaks, has fewer entries. Ranges with high numbers of peaks are less common, as you are about to see. The ones that fall into this group are these, 27 in all: Agua Dulce Mountains; Atascosa Mountains; Bates Mountains; Beaver Dam Mountains; Big Horn Mountains; Chocolate Mountains; Dragoon Mountains; Goldfield Mountains; Granite Mountains; Growler Mountains; Harcuvar Mountains; Hieroglyphic Mountains; Huachuca Mountains; Little Rincon Mountains; Patagonia Mountains; Pedregosa Mountains; Phoenix Mountains; Pinal Mountains; Rawhide Mountains; Santa Rita Mountains; Santan Mountains; Sierra Estrella; Sierra Pinta; Tinajas Altas Mountains; Weaver Mountains; Whetstone Mountains; White Tank Mountains.

Several in this last grouping are found in remote desert areas. It is interesting to note that if we scan the records, most of Arizona’s ranges cannot claim an individual climber who has climbed every peak in that range. Many of those of easier access, yes, but only a truly herculean effort will allow you to stand atop every single peak in the remote ranges, to complete a grand slam of that range. That fact becomes even more apparent in the ranges with many members.

If we look at the ranges with 30 to 39 peaks each, we see a significant drop in numbers. In fact, there are only 13 of them, as follows: Dos Cabezas Mountains; Eagle Tail Mountains; Gila Mountains (eastern group); Harquahalla Mountains; Little Harquahalla Mountains; Mohave Mountains; Mohawk Mountains; Mule Mountains; Roskruge Mountains; Tucson Mountains; Tumacacori Mountains; Vulture Mountains; Winchester Mountains. The Eagle Tail Mountains have at least one peak that is so technically difficult that nobody has dared try it. The Winchester Mountains have some of the nastiest bushwhacking to be found anywhere.

Our next group, the one with from 40 to 49 peaks each, is much smaller. The only ones within it are: Ajo Range; Belmont Mountains; Buckskin Mountains; Galiuro Mountains; Little Horn Mountains; Santa Catalina Mountains; Santa Teresa Mountains; Tank Mountains – only 8 ranges within this group. The Ajo Range boasts some technical challenges. The Galiuro Mountains are a long chain, spanning an honest 35 air miles. The Little Horn Mountains contain much quiet, remote country which is rarely visited. Ditto for the Tank Mountains – much of this range lies within an off-limits military proving ground.

There are only 6 Arizona mountain ranges which contain 50-something peaks – a pretty select group. They are: Aquarius Mountains; Baboquiviri Mountains; Dome Rock Mountains; Mazatzal Mountains; Pinaleño Mountains; Plomosa Mountains. The Baboquiviri Mountains contain several seriously-challenging technical peaks. The Mazatzal Mountains are a jumbled, confusing-at-best range which sprawls across a big chunk of east-central Arizona. The Pinaleños contain the highest-prominence peak in the state.

Now we are getting into really rarified territory – ranges with from 60 to 69 peaks. That short list is: Bradshaw Mountains; Cerbat Mountains; Gila Mountains (west group). Only 3 members in this club. The Bradshaw Mountains fill a large chunk of the space between Prescott and Lake Pleasant, much of it in high, wooded country. The Cerbat Mountains are a long chain stretching north from Kingman. The Gila Mountains are a rugged desert range mostly south of Interstate 8 in the far western desert near Yuma.

Our next group is the one with from 70 to 79 peaks in each range. We find a mere 3 ranges in this group: Maricopa Mountains; Sand Tank Mountains; Trigo Mountains. The Maricopa Mountains lie north of Interstate 8 and only span 28 air miles, but there are plenty of them and all are fair game and legally accessible. The Sand Tanks are another story – they stretch south of Interstate and a goodly number of them sit on forbidden land in the bombing range. Three of them remain unclimbed to this day due to their technical nature and the simple fact that climbers are afraid of getting caught by the Air Force out on the bombing range. The Trigo Mountains are located on the Yuma Proving Ground north of Yuma. Climbers have been nibbling around the edges for years. The US Army isn’t known for handing out permits to climbers, so that even today many of the peaks are unclimbed, untouched, waiting for some super-stealthers to sneak in there and pick them off. The same goes for the Chocolate Mountains to their east.

Now we’re getting up into really rarified territory. There is only one range in the state that falls into the category of having from 80 to 89 peaks, and that range is the Cabeza Prieta Mountains. These are all legally accessible but a great many of them require backpacks or very long days by a committed climber. Only one, a climber who goes by the name Azb1, has almost finished the list and will soon complete it. There is much remote ground in this range, where help is simply out of reach, so taking on a project like that and doing it solo is quite an accomplishment

None of the state’s ranges have ninety-something peaks, so we must now jump to the next category, the ones with from 100 to 109 peaks. As you might expect, this is rarified territory. Two ranges make the cut: Kofa Mountains and Sauceda Mountains. Personally, I don’t know much about the Kofa Mountains – I’ve done little climbing there, and nobody has climbed every peak in the range. There are some real humdingers of technical peaks in the range. All of the range lies within the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, so it is a highly protected area. You can drive its roads and head out on foot anywhere you’d like to go, but much of it is quite remote.

The Sauceda Mountains are found in south-central Arizona, and lie partly within the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation and partly within the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range. Many of the 100 peaks are strictly off-limits to the public, so it is a stealth-climbers paradise. That’s what makes this range so unique, the fact that so much of it is forbidden ground where you’ll never get a permit to enter. It is also a range that has several Class 5 technical climbs. All of its peaks have been climbed, a main reason being that access is pretty good if you use old military roads, even though you’re not allowed to drive or even walk on many of them. The Saucedas are a special place.

There is one range which falls into my next category, from 110 to 119 peaks. It is the Hualapai Mountains, sitting to the south of Kingman in northwestern Arizona. Quite frankly, I was surprised to come up with such a high count for this range – I wasn’t expecting it. It’s all legally accessible, and roads seem to penetrate deeply enough into the range to provide reasonable access to much of it, but nevertheless I was surprised to see how many of its peaks appear unclimbed. There’s definitely climber’s work to be done in the Hualapais.

The Gila Bend Mountains put us into even-more-rarified territory. With 122 peaks, we are really getting up there. This range covers a swath 53 miles long, stretching from the town of Gila Bend in the east and continuing all the way over to meet the Clanton Hills in the west. No single person has climbed all of its peaks – there’d be some work involved, as many of its peaks are way out there. There are still a number of unclimbed peaks in the range waiting for an ascent.

Our next range doesn’t cover a huge swath of territory like some of these other big-boys, in fact only stretching 40 miles from end to end, but it is thickly populated with peaks – 137 of them in all. We’re talking about the Castle Dome Mountains. Virtually all of the range sits within the Kofa National Wildlife refuge, and many of its peaks are crazy-remote. The range is located in southwestern Arizona and encompasses a lot of harsh, remote desert land. Plenty of its peaks remain untouched, waiting for first ascents, and for good reason – access is difficult for many of them. Long treks, sometimes with backpacking, are needed to approach those sleepers.

Now here’s a range with a whopping 145 peaks – the Chiricahua Mountains. It only stretches 45 miles across but is thickly populated. Located in far southeastern Arizona, not far north of the Mexican border, access is pretty good – the range has been heavily-trodden by ranchers and prospectors since the 1800s, so it doesn’t hold too many secrets. The highest parts of the range are high indeed, at least by Arizona standards, and reach almost 10,000 feet elevation.

This next range took me by surprise. When I started studying the Black Mountains, the first thing that shocked me was their extent. They run from Interstate 40 all the way north to Lake Mead – that’s 106 miles as the crow flies! Nothing else we’ve looked at so far has even come close to that. And this range has the audacity to continue on into Nevada for another 13 miles – I’m not even counting that chunk in my statistics. Just when you think that the range is petering out, it keeps on going. for a final tally of 155 peaks. It’s not a lofty range by any measure – its highest peak is only 5,456 feet., but it is so extensive that it still contains unclimbed peaks.

The purpose of this article is to give you an idea of how extensive some of our state’s ranges can be. I’ve saved the best for last. We now come to the Peloncillo Mountains, a range that can be found in southeastern Arizona, hard by the New Mexican border. The Peloncillos start in the north near the Gila River and run south, seemingly forever, mile after mile. down to the border with Old Mexico. This range excels in every measure – it is the longest, running for a full 125 miles, and it contains the most peaks, 180. It has so many peaks that it completely overshadows its closest contender with a mere 155. It is truly the paterfamilias of all of Arizona’s mountain ranges. It resides in what is nowadays mostly ranching country, access is pretty good throughout, and it has been traveled for hundreds of years by Native Americans, ranchers and explorers. The Peloncillos meander across the border into New Mexico in various places, and in fact their highest peak is in New Mexico. On the whole, it is a friendly sort of range.

The only one of Arizona’s mountain ranges that didn’t come into play in this story is the White Mountains. The range sits in the east-central part of Arizona and includes many of the state’s highest peaks, but the problem is that nobody seems able to say definitively where the range starts and ends, making a proper count of its peaks almost impossible. Labels on our maps don’t shed much light on the subject, and my correspondence with the US Board on Geographic Names, the final authority on such matters, didn’t really help.

I’m giving you a link here which is really useful and interesting. Climber friend Dave Jurasevich has compiled the definitive list of Arizona’s mountain ranges, and it contains a huge amount of information. When you open the list, check out the column on the far right – that will name the range. On the far left is a column which names the highest peak in the range, and if you click on a name it will open a small map. Click on the map and it will open up a full-page map which allows you to explore the area.

One final remark. Only about half of all of Arizona’s peaks lie within a named mountain range, so what’s going on with the thousands of others? Well, they are out there on their own, just floating around, not part of any range, but still worthwhile objectives in their own right.

Thanks for coming along with me for this tour of Arizona’s mountain ranges.