Swisshelm Mountains

Swisshelm Mountains

(black massif of Chiricahua Mountains with black Dos Cabezas Mountains attached at northwest)
The Swisshelm Mountains is the small (1/4 length of Chiricahuas) subrange, just west of the south end of the Chiricahuas.
(The wildfires smoke plume is blowing east x northeast.)
Highest point
Peak Swisshelm Mountain
Elevation 7,185 ft (2,190 m)[1]
Coordinates 31°40′28″N 109°32′07″W / 31.67444°N 109.53528°W / 31.67444; -109.53528[2]
Dimensions
Length 22 mi (35 km) N-S
Width 6 mi (9.7 km)
Geography

Swisshelm Mountains in Arizona

Country United States
State Arizona
Regions Northeastern-Sonoran Desert, Rucker CanyonLeslie Canyon Refuge and Madrean Sky Islands
County Cochise County
Communities
Range coordinates 31°40′N 109°32′W / 31.67°N 109.54°W / 31.67; -109.54Coordinates: 31°40′N 109°32′W / 31.67°N 109.54°W / 31.67; -109.54
Borders on Sulphur Springs Valley-W, Chiricahua Mountains-NE, Pedregosa Mountains-E/SE and Leslie Creek & Refuge-S & E
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The Swisshelm Mountains are a small mountain range adjacent to the southwest corner of the Chiricahua Mountains of eastern Cochise County, Arizona. They are separated from the Pedrogosa Mountains to the southeast, the Chiricahua's to the northeast, and by Leslie Creek, bordering the south and east; the area is now notable for the Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge.

The mountain range is named for John Swisshelm, a miner, a local settler of the late 1900s.[3]

Range

The range is a north-south range, with three notable peaks. In the south, Swisshelm Mountain is the highest at 7,185 feet (2,190 m). In the north, an unnamed peak is 5225 ft, and is adjacent to Whitewater Draw of the lower stretch of Rucker Creek. A second unnamed peak is in the northeast, at 5847 ft and also adjacent to Rucker Creek.

Leslie Creek forms the eastern and southern border of the Swisshelm Mountains. The Chiricahua's are directly adjacent eastwards; the Pedregosa Mountains are southeast and are drained by a tributary of Leslie Creek, Big Bend Creek.

The communities of Elfrida and McNeal are directly west of the Swisshelm's in the Sulphur Springs Valley; Douglas and Agua Prieta, Sonora are due south at about 15 miles (24 km). The historical area of Sunizona, Arizona is northwest-(Pearce, Arizona).

See also

References

Geology

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.