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List "Arizona Hills HPs" By Dave Jurasevich

Notes: The Arizona Hills Highpoints list consists of 130 named ranges. The lowest summit elevation is a mere 1110 feet, located in the Devil Hills of the remote Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Arizona's Yuma County. The highest summit elevation is found at 9170 feet in the Hochderffer Hills northwest of Flagstaff in the Coconino National Forest.

All but three of the 130 ranges lie entirely within the state of Arizona, the exceptions being the Million Hills, which is shared between Arizona and Nevada in the far northwest corner of the state, and the O'Neil Hills and Quitobaquito Hills in southwestern Arizona - each of which have their highpoint in Arizona and just barely reach across the border into Mexico.

Oddly, there are two named Hills ranges that share the same highpoint. The Three Brothers Hills and the Mays Hills in Cochise County near Tombstone, Arizona both have Point 5144 as their highpoint. Details of this anomaly are noted further below in these List Notes. Climb Point 5144 and you get two for the price of one! Since the Lists of John database designates Point 5144 as The Three Brothers Hills, the Mays Hills do not show up on the Arizona Hills Range Highpoints List, resulting in 129 listed ranges when in actuality there are 130 ranges in total.

Here is some trivia related to this list.

Geographical Mean Location: 33.49409N/111.618W. This location is about 6 air miles NW of Apache Junction, AZ very near Usery Pass.
Mean Elevation: 4201 feet
Mean Prominence: 509 feet
County with most ranges: Pima at 21
County with least ranges: Santa Cruz at 2

As with any mountains or hills range, there are always those that pose a problem when attempting to define the physical extent of the feature. I have endeavored my best to delineate the boundaries of ranges on this list in order to identify a suitable highpoint, a determination that some may choose not to accept. In addition, some ranges may have a number of contenders vying for highpoint, which I have tried my best to identify. If in doubt, climb them all and any others I might have missed then kindly leave a note by clicking on the Submit a Trip Report link and relate your experience. The goal is to fine tune the list to the most accurate degree possible.

The land status encompassing these ranges covers the full spectrum of jurisdictions, from private land to sovereign Indian Nation to public lands and everything in between. In no way whatsoever does this list imply permission to break the laws of these jurisdictions in pursuit of these highpoints. As is always the case in mountaineering, climb at your own risk and be aware of the objective hazards.

Following are specific notes on particular ranges and/or comments regarding ranges in question related to potential highpoint(s) and/or boundaries.

Ash Creek Black Hills 5130' Two additional closed contours at UTM 12S 577739/3598039 and 12S 575894/3597468 interpolate to the same 5130' elevation.

Asher Hills 2050' The highpoint is within a fenced area posted No Trespassing.

Little Black Hills 3224' Designated as Black Hills on the 7.5 minute Peppersause Wash topo but listed as the Little Black Hills on the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) website and Lists of John website.

Black Hills 7860' (Woodchute Mountain) The location of the actual highpoint is difficult to determine because the summit area is large and relatively flat.

Box O Hills 3090' Three closed contours on the summit ridgeline at UTM 12S 487706/3644953, 12S 487904/3644886 and 12S 487985/3644844 interpolate to the same 3090' elevation. A field check revealed t he westernmost of the three at UTM 12S 487706/3644953 is the highpoint.

Circle I Hills 5052' The highpoint is a boulder on the S side of the fenced compound outside of the fence.

Deem Hills 2098' Sight levels in both directions with KR level showed that the area with spot elevation 2098 is about 3 feet higher than the area with contour 2100.

Ellsworth Hills 6590' Depending on interpretation of range boundaries, spot elevation 6698, located in the front yard of a private residence 0.55 air miles due E of 6590' at UTM 12S 590747/3785688, is a potential candidate for highpoint.

Emigrant Hills 4460' A 1x power hand level survey by a party in January 2021 evaluated a point lying 0.6 miles WSW at 12S 651012/3560077 as the highpoint. Further field verification is required.

Granite Hills 2305' Closed contour 2300' located 150 feet to the NW of BM Treadway is thought to be lower but a field check is suggested.

Gyp Hills 2610' The boundaries of this range are very difficult to define, particularly the E boundary, which rises gradually in height as it approaches the base of the Grand Wash Cliffs. Likewise, the N boundary is vague, but for the purposes of this list is assumed to be the E/W trending wash with a Jeep Trail shown on the 7.5 minute topo map at approximately latitude 36.337N. On the W side the terrain generally drops in elevation so this boundary is of no consequence. The S boundary is perhaps the most identifiable and is assumed to be the wide Pigeon Wash. Assuming these range limits and taking a conservative view of the E boundary , the highpoint chosen is spot elevation 2610'at UTM 12S 240925/4024596.

Hidden Valley Hills 2327' Depending on interpretation of the range boundaries, Peak 2434 at UTM 11S 763753/3687105 could be considered a potential highpoint.

Horse Hills 4060' Closed contour 4040' located less than 300 feet to the WNW at UTM 12S 513056/ 3642636 also interpolates to 4060' elevation. Field verification is required to determine the actual highpoint.

Lime Hills 4895' The E and S limits of this range are Purgatory Canyon. The N and W limits are the escarpment of the Grey Points. The highpoint is spot elevation 4895' at UTM 12S 254963/4090199 near the very edge of the escarpment.

Limestone Hills 5321'The N and E boundaries are rather obvious, being the top of the steep escarpment dropping down in those directions to the East Verde River. The far eastern portion of that boundary is more vague but assumed to be Bull Springs Canyon as it rises to the NE and meets the escarpment at a 4940' saddle at UTM 12S 447420/3787625. To the S and W the terrain generally drops elevation with no points higher than the assumed 5321' highpoint.

Livingston Hills 2660' Closed contour 2600' located about 500 feet SSE of 2653 at UTM 11S 768494/ 3709990 is likely the range highpoint. Both naked eye and 5x power hand level inspections independently by different parties have found it to be higher than 2653', suggesting that one 40 foot contour line is missing on the 7.5 minute Livingston Hills topo.

Mays Hills 5144' The Mays Hills and The Three Brothers Hills shown on the 7.5 minute Fairbanks topo are one and the same range sharing the same 5144' highpoint. The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) website notes the Lat/Long coordinates of these two ranges as 31d42m32s N/110d07m43sW and 31d42m41sN/110d07m46sW respectively, making the difference between them 0.179 air miles. This small difference in distance does not suggest the Mays Hills and The Three Brothers Hills are separate ranges when viewed in the context of the 7.5 minute Fairbanks topo, leading to the conclusion that they are the same range with different names.

Million Hills 2838' The highpoint of the range is Point 865T (2838 feet elevation) at UTM 11S 763858/4015033 in Clark County, Nevada. The range continues E into Arizona with the assumed Arizona range boundaries as follows. The E boundary is defined by the Grand Wash Bay arm of Lake Mead, continuing N along Grand Wash to its junction with Garden Wash. The N limit is Garden Wash to the Arizona-Nevada state line. The W boundary is the N/S Arizona-Nevada state line. The S limit is the N shore of Lake Mead. Based on these boundaries the Arizona highpoint is spot elevation 695T meters (2280 feet) at UTM 11S 765350/4019995. There are also two possible candidates to consider directly on the Arizona-Nevada state line, both between contour lines 690 and 700 meters at UTM 11S 765112/4019056 and 11S 765118/4018858 respectively.

Petal Hills 5220' This range is a network of foothills lying W of the Echo Cliffs. Assuming tightly conservative range limits, the highpoint chosen is the closed contour point 5200 at UTM 12S 443109/4060473, lying approximately 0.75 miles SSW of named peak Tselgiizhil. Spot elevation 5203 at UTM 12S 442803/4059710 is also a contender requiring a field check to determine which point is higher.

Red Hills 6705' (Wide Ruins) Pending field verification, the 6700' closed contour lying 0.13 air miles to the SE at UTM 12S 639966/3922527 is a possible contender for the range highpoint.

Red Hills 4940' (Wet Bottom Mesa) - Depending on interpretation of range boundaries, spot elevation 4927' at UTM 12S 442087/3778348, having the same closed contour elevation as the presumed highpoint, could be a possible candidate for highpoint of the range.

Red Hills 7714' (Beaverhead) The range boundaries are somewhat vague, particularly on the N and S. The N boundary is assumed to be an unnamed E/W trending canyon that empties into Bush Creek at UTM 12S 672509/3729146. The S boundary is of no consequence as the range generally drops in elevation in that direction. The W boundary is assumed to be the NW/SE trending canyon cut by Tutt Creek. Finally, the E boundary is assumed to be the generally S flowing Bush Creek. Assuming these range limits, the highpoint is spot elevation 7714' at UTM 12S 671650/3727726.

Red Hills, North 4980' (Fort Thomas) Spot elevation 4964', located 0.38 air miles SW of the highpoint and having the same closed contour elevation as the highpoint was found to be lower based on a field check.

Three Brothers Hills 5144' The Mays Hills and The Three Brothers Hills shown on the 7.5 minute Fairbanks topo are one and the same range sharing the same 5144' highpoint. The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) website notes the Lat/Long coordinates of these two ranges as 31d42m32s N/110d07m43sW and 31d42m41sN/110d07m46sW respectively, making the difference between them 0.179 air miles. This small difference in distance does not suggest the Mays Hills and The Three Brothers Hills are separate ranges when viewed in the context of the 7.5 minute Fairbanks topo, leading to the conclusion that they are the same range with different names.

White Hills 4740' (Buckhead Mesa) The range boundaries are vague, particularly on the N and E. The W boundary is assumed to coincide with Buckhead Canyon from its junction with Pine Creek in the S to its split at a stream junction just SW of spot elevation 4687', with the N boundary continuing SE over a 4620' saddle at the junction of map sections 16/17/20/21, dropping SE down into Limestone Canyon. The E boundary is assumed to begin here in Limestone Canyon and continue following that drainage S to the East Verde River. Assuming these range limits, the highpoint is closed contour 4720 at UTM 12S 458603/3794358.

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to three climbers who helped in the development of this custom list. To the late Bob Martin, who concurrently developed an Arizona Hills Range Highpoints list independent of mine, which was referred to in the compiling of this list. To Andy Martin for sharing Bob's list with me. And finally to Desert Mountaineer, who supplied me write-ups of peaks on the list I haven't yet done, field verifying highpoints for accuracy and providing other details as well as spending countless hours reviewing this list as it was being developed.

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