The Arizona desert landsape is frequently interrupted by "sky islands" -- mountain ranges that support temperate and alpine habitats by absorbing rainfall at the expense of the surrounding flatlands.  By climbing from the Tucson desert to the alpine environment on top of Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalinas, people can experience a climate change equivalent from driving from Arizona to Northern Canada.

    This page is limited to the mountain face of Arizona.  Photos of Arizona ghost towns, canyons, waterfalls, and deserts can be found by selecting other categories on my index page.

The San Francisco Peaks

    This range north of Flagstaff is home to Mount Humphries, Arizona's highest peak.  The trail to Humphries is always clogged with peak baggers; thankfully, the adjacent Kachina Peaks Wilderness is less visited.  Photographed August 2003.
 
 

The Chiricahua Mountains and Chiricahua National Monument

    Threaded with dozens of miles of trails through fantastic rock formations, this park is the product of eroded lava formations from the eruption of the nearby Turkey Creek caldera thousands of years ago.  Last photographed November 2002.
 
 

Sunrise over Cochise Head
	Inspiration Point
Faraway Ranch

Mount Graham and the Pinaleno Mountains

    The Pinalenos are the highest sky island in Southern Arizona.  Mount Graham, the highest peak in the range, is 10,720 feet above sea level and rises over 7,000 feet over the nearby town of Safford.  It's said that Mount Graham has more climate zones than any other single mountain in North America, and from what I've seen, I believe it.  Photographed September 2003.
 
 

The Huachuca Mountains and Coronado National Memorial

    The Huachuca Mountains are home to a national park, a national forest, a Nature Conservancy preserve, a few ghost towns, and an Army fort.  It sounds like a lot to cram into one mountain range, but the Huachucas still manage to impress me every time I hike there.  Fort Huachuca, "a great place to re-enlist since 1877," envelops most of the north side of the Huachucas.  On the east side of the range, the Ramsey Canyon Preserve is workd famous for its butterflies.  Coronado National Memorial, on the south side of the Huachucas, memorializes the inland trek of Coronado and his small band looking for Cibola and gold.  The highlight is Montezuma Pass, shown below.  Last photographed February 2003.
 
 

Snow on the Huachucas		Brown Parade Field
View of the Whetstone Mountains		Montezuma Pass, Coronado NM