| Mount Graham | |
|---|---|
 Mount Graham,Safford | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 10,720 ft (3,270 m) NAVD 88[1] |
| Prominence | 6,320 ft (1,926 m) (#1 in Arizona)[2] |
| Listing | |
| Coordinates | 32°42′06″N109°52′17″W / 32.7017°N 109.8714°W /32.7017; -109.8714[1] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Graham  Mount Graham | |
| Location | Graham County,Arizona, U.S. |
| Parent range | Pinaleño Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Graham |
Mount Graham (called inNnee biyati' (Western Apache)Dził Nchaa Sí'an – 'Big Seated Mountain') is a mountain inGraham County, Arizona, United States, approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast ofTucson. The mountain reaches 10,720 feet (3,267 m) in height. It is the highest elevation inGraham County,Coronado National Forest and thePinaleño Mountains.[2] It is also the southernmost peak and land area in the continental United States above 10,000 feet (3,048 m). As the name "Mount Graham" is often used by locals to refer to the entire mountain range, the peak itself is frequently referred to as "High Peak".[4] It is twentieth of the 57ultra-prominent peaks of thelower 48 states,[5] and the first of the five in Arizona.[6]
Mount Graham summits are headwaters for numerous perennial streams that tumble through five majorbotanical zones. Located between the southernRocky Mountains and Mexico'sSierra Madre Occidental, and biologically isolated for millennia, the higher elevations have providedrefuge for relict populations of plants and animals with adaptive strategies rooted in Pleistocene ice age environmental conditions. Of particular note are stands of the oldest conifer trees in the U.S. Southwest and associated habitats for threatened and endangered species, especially theMount Graham Red Squirrel.[7]
Located near the northern limit of theChiricahua Apache homeland and the southern margins ofWestern Apache territory, the range is one of the Western Apache's four holiest mountains and is considered sacred by all of the region's Native peoples. Since a determination by the Keeper of the Register in 2002, Dził Nchaa Sí'an, as it is known in the Western Apache language, ranks as the largest and most extensive (~330,000 acres) property listed on or formally determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.[8]
In 1993, theSt. Paisius Orthodox Monastery was founded at the base of the mountain.
Mount Graham hosts both species of Arizona native trout –Gila andApache trout and three species of introduced trout.[9]
| Climate data for Mount Graham 32.7019 N, 109.8738 W, Elevation: 10,482 ft (3,195 m) (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 40.6 (4.8) | 40.6 (4.8) | 44.3 (6.8) | 49.8 (9.9) | 58.2 (14.6) | 68.3 (20.2) | 68.3 (20.2) | 66.2 (19.0) | 62.4 (16.9) | 55.6 (13.1) | 47.9 (8.8) | 41.0 (5.0) | 53.6 (12.0) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 28.8 (−1.8) | 28.6 (−1.9) | 32.1 (0.1) | 36.8 (2.7) | 44.6 (7.0) | 53.7 (12.1) | 55.7 (13.2) | 54.3 (12.4) | 50.2 (10.1) | 42.7 (5.9) | 35.6 (2.0) | 29.3 (−1.5) | 41.0 (5.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 17.0 (−8.3) | 16.6 (−8.6) | 19.8 (−6.8) | 23.7 (−4.6) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 39.2 (4.0) | 43.1 (6.2) | 42.4 (5.8) | 38.1 (3.4) | 29.9 (−1.2) | 23.4 (−4.8) | 17.6 (−8.0) | 28.5 (−1.9) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.23 (82) | 3.43 (87) | 3.13 (80) | 1.28 (33) | 1.06 (27) | 0.77 (20) | 6.21 (158) | 6.61 (168) | 3.55 (90) | 2.80 (71) | 2.80 (71) | 3.41 (87) | 38.28 (974) |
| Source: PRISM Climate Group[10] | |||||||||||||
Mount Graham is home to theMount Graham International Observatory area, where multiple organizations have set up largetelescopes in a few separateobservatories authorized by a rare peace-time Congressional waiver of U.S. environmental laws.[11]
TheUnited States Congress authorized construction of the observatories on the mountain in 1988, but there has been outcry from the four federally recognized tribes of the Western Apache Nation and Native American groups, who consider the site to be sacred. Environmental groups, including theSierra Club, also oppose the Mount Graham International Observatory because the higher elevations are the last remaining habitat for the Mount Graham Red Squirrel.
To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clickingCoordinates (underLocation); copyLatitude andLongitude figures from top of table; clickZoom to location; clickPrecipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click30-year normals, 1991-2020; click800m; clickRetrieve Time Series button.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
