Grantham Peak (6,591 ft) as seen from Arizona State Route 288, the main road leading into the Sierra Ancha mountains from the south.
The Sierra Ancha ("broad range" in Spanish, in Western Apache: Dził Nteel - "Wide Flat Mountain") is a mountain range in Gila County, in central Arizona. It lies between Roosevelt Lake to the south, the Tonto Basin to the west, Cherry Creek to the east, and Pleasant Valley to the north. The range is one of several, including the Bradshaw Mountains, Mingus Mountain of the Black Hills, and the Mazatzal Mountains, which form a transitional zone between the lowland deserts of southern Arizona and the Colorado Plateau of northeastern Arizona. The highest point in the range is Aztec Peak, at an elevation of 2345 m (7694 ft).
The Sierra Ancha is penetrated by few improved roads, and the range is cut by numerous deep, spectacular canyons, particularly on its eastern flank. Little agricultural, commercial, or residential development has taken place, though in the past asbestos mining was carried out at a mine between Asbestos and Zimmerman Points. Cattle ranching is still practiced in the area. Nearby communities include Roosevelt, Tonto Basin, Punkin Center, and Young, Arizona. The Sierra Ancha lies completely within Arizona's Tonto National Forest.
The summit of Aztec peak is the site of a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout once staffed by noted Arizona essayist and novelist Edward Abbey.
Two U.S. Wilderness Areas lie within the Sierra Ancha — the Salome Wilderness, encompassing Salome Creek and its canyon on the southern edge of the range, and the Sierra Ancha Wilderness, protecting the high peaks and deep canyons of the eastern flank of the range. The range also includes the U.S. Forest Service's Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest, a tract on which research on the characteristics of Southwestern U.S. watersheds has been conducted.
The Sierra Ancha includes abundant archaeological remains, especially in the form of cliff dwellings in the rugged canyons opening eastward toward Cherry Creek. The identity of the American Indian builders of these structures remains uncertain, but the sites show characteristics of both the Salado and Mogollon cultures. Tree-ring dating of roof beams from the sites suggests that construction began in about 1280 AD, and that the structures were abandoned by 1350 AD.
The SierraAncha ("broad range" in Spanish, in Western Apache: Dził Nteel - "Wide Flat Mountain") is a mountain range in Gila County, in central Arizona...
The SierraAncha Cliff Dwellings are a series of Pre-Columbian native American cliff-dwellings located in the SierraAncha Wilderness. They were built...
The SierraAncha Wilderness The SierraAncha Wilderness is located about 100 miles east of Phoenix, between Globe and Young. Though fairly small at 32...
Creek, East Verde River, Salt River, and in the Superstition Mountains, SierraAncha and Pinaleno Mountains with Southern Tonto Apache and bands of the San...
Mountains–Pima County SierraAncha–Gila County Sierra Arida–Yuma County Sierra Blanca Mountains–Pima County Sierra de la Lechuguilla–Yuma County Sierra de la Nariz–Pima...
Erigeron anchana, the SierraAncha fleabane, is a rare Arizona species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It has been found only on cliff faces...
region of the country Sierra de la Demanda, northern Iberian Peninsula SierraAncha, central Arizona Sierra Blanca (New Mexico) Sierra Estrella, southwestern...
concentrate U3O8. A coalition of groups, including the Havasupai Tribe, the Sierra Club, the Grand Canyon Trust, and the Center for Biological Diversity, sued...
Route 188 on the northeast. The mountains were once known in Spanish as Sierra de la Espuma ("Foam Mountain"). The range has a maximum elevation of 6,266 ft...
the southern portion of the Tonto Basin, a low-lying area between the SierraAncha Mountains, Mazatzal Mountains (including Four Peaks), and the Superstition...
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western...
– sometimes they were found even further west on Tonto Creek, in the SierraAncha and the Mazatzal Mountains considered to be Southern Tonto Apache land)...
Vishnu Basement Rocks (Ruin Granite), are prominently found in all of the SierraAncha range, the range being separated by faults from its neighboring Mazatzal...
Hopkins Mount Wrightson Santa Teresa Mountains Mount Turnbull SierraAncha Mistake Peak Sierra Prieta Granite Mountain Superstition Mountains Superstition...
NGVD 29 to NAVD 88. The summit of Aztec Peak is the highest point of the SierraAncha. The elevation of Aztec Peak includes an adjustment of +0.805 m (2.64 ft)...
The San Francisco Peaks (Navajo: Dookʼoʼoosłííd, Spanish: Sierra de San Francisco, Hopi: Nuva'tukya'ovi, Western Apache: Dził Tso, Keres: Tsii Bina, Southern...
(partly in Prescott NF) Salome Wilderness Salt River Canyon Wilderness SierraAncha Superstition Wilderness A portion of the Verde Wild and Scenic River...
botanical zones. Located between the southern Rocky Mountains and Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental, and biologically isolated for millennia, the higher elevations...
country of the southwestern US. The Salome Wilderness lies within the SierraAncha mountain range in Gila County, Arizona. Prominent perennial streams within...
Hopkins Mount Wrightson Santa Teresa Mountains Mount Turnbull SierraAncha Mistake Peak Sierra Prieta Granite Mountain Superstition Mountains Superstition...
Hopkins Mount Wrightson Santa Teresa Mountains Mount Turnbull SierraAncha Mistake Peak Sierra Prieta Granite Mountain Superstition Mountains Superstition...
Hopkins Mount Wrightson Santa Teresa Mountains Mount Turnbull SierraAncha Mistake Peak Sierra Prieta Granite Mountain Superstition Mountains Superstition...
The Sierra Prieta is a 14 miles (23 km) long mountain range in central-northwest Arizona. The range is the mountainous region west of Prescott, with prominent...
Salado Ruins, located in the SierraAncha Wilderness. Cooper Forks Canyon Ruins Salado Ruins located in the SierraAncha Wilderness. Devil's Chasm Salado...
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