Topo map USGS Jerome Canyon Easiest route rock climb Prominence 508 m Parent range Sierra Prieta | Mountain type Granite Elevation 2,324 m Age of rock Proterozoic | |
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Location Yavapai County, Arizona, U.S. Similar Chiricahua Peak, Miller Peak, Mount Ord, Picketpost Mountain, Carr Peak | ||
Granite Mountain (Yavapai: ʼWi:kvte:wa) is a 7,628-foot (2,325 m) mountain located in Yavapai County, Arizona that covers roughly 12 square miles (31 km2). It was once known as Mount Gurley, for the first governor of the Arizona Territory, John A. Gurley. Its southwest face has a sheer granite cliff approximately 500 feet (150 m) high that is one of the best locations for rock climbing in the state of Arizona. It is located in the Granite Mountain Wilderness, which is managed as a part of the Prescott National Forest. The mountain stands at the northern end of the Sierra Prietas, and borders Skull Valley on the west, on the northwest by the Santa Maria Mountains, and east by the Williamson Valley.
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Map of Granite Mountain, Arizona 86305, USA
Geology
Granite Mountain is composed of the Prescott Granodiorite, a 1.7 billion year-old stock intruded into Yavapai schist. Xenoliths of the schist are commonly found in the granodiorite. The gray granodiorite was a popular building stone in early-day Prescott. It was used to build the Yavapai County Courthouse and in many other older buildings around town, including Fort Whipple.
Ecology
The biotic communities at Granite Mountain range from montane conifer forest and juniper pinyon woodland, to interior chaparral. Granite Mountain is a nesting site for the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), and the climbing area on the south face is periodically closed to rock climbing, typically from February 1 until July 15 each year.