San Francisco Peaks
San Francisco Peaks | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Peak | Humphreys Peak |
Elevation | 12,637 ft (3,852 m) NAVD 88[1] |
Coordinates | 35°20′47″N 111°40′41″W / 35.346341917°N 111.677945539°W[1] |
Naming | |
Native name | |
Geography | |
Country | United States |
State | Arizona |
Igneous | |
Volcanic field | San Francisco volcanic field |
Last eruption | ~400,000 years ago |
The San Francisco Peaks (
Geography
The six highest individual peaks in Arizona are contained in the range:
- Humphreys Peak, 12,637 feet (3,852 m)
- Agassiz Peak, 12,356 feet (3,766 m)
- Fremont Peak, 11,969 feet (3,648 m)
- Aubineau Peak, 11,838 feet (3,608 m)
- Rees Peak, 11,474 feet (3,497 m)
- Doyle Peak, 11,460 feet (3,493 m)
The mountain provides a number of recreational opportunities, including wintertime snow
Humphreys Peak (latitude 35°20'47" N) and Agassiz Peak (latitude 35°19'33" N) are the two farthest south-lying mountain peaks in the contiguous United States that rise to a height of more than 12,000 feet (3,700 m) above sea level.
Prior to its collapse due to a landslide and hypothesized Mount St. Helens-like lateral eruption to the northeast (around 200,000 years ago) and subsequent glacial erosion, the San Francisco Peaks fully matured elevation is estimated to have been around 16,000 feet (4,900 m).[6]
History
In 1629, 147 years before
Around 1877,
In 1898, U.S. President William McKinley established the San Francisco Mountain Forest Reserve, at the request of Gifford Pinchot, the head of the U.S. Division of Forestry. The local reaction was hostile – citizens of Williams, Arizona, protested and the Williams News editorialized that the reserve "virtually destroys Coconino County."[8] In 1908, the San Francisco Mountain Forest Reserve became a part of the new Coconino National Forest.
In 2002, Arizona Snowbowl, the ski resort on the peaks, proposed a plan to expand and begin snowmaking using reclaimed water made of treated sewage effluent. A coalition of Indian tribes and environmental groups sued the Coconino National Forest, which leases the land to the ski resort, in an attempt to stop the proposed expansion, citing serious impacts to traditional culture, public health, and the environment.[5] In 2011, construction began on a wastewater pipeline to the peaks. In response, there was an ongoing series of protest actions including demonstrations and lockdowns in which protesters chained themselves to construction equipment.[9] In 2012, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Arizona Snowbowl, and wastewater to snow conversion began in the 2012–2013 ski season.[10]
Ecology
The biologist Clinton Hart Merriam studied these mountains and surrounding areas in 1889, describing a set of six life zones found from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the summit of the mountains, based on elevation, latitude, and average precipitation. He designated their characteristic flora, as follows:
- Lower Sonoran Zone – Sonoran Desert plants
- Upper Sonoran Zone – pinyon and juniper woodlands
- Transition Zone – ponderosa pineforests
- Canadian Zone – mixed conifer forest
- Hudsonian Zone – spruce-fir or subalpine conifer forest
- Arctic-Alpine Zone – alpine tundra
Merriam considered that these life zones could be extended to cover all the world's vegetation types with the addition of only one more zone, the
The San Francisco Peaks themselves contain four of the six life zones. The four life zones that are found along the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks are listed below along with their approximate elevation ranges, dominant tree species found within each of the four life zones, and average annual precipitation of each life zone:[11]
- Ponderosa pine forests – The elevation of the zone ranges from approximately 6,000 to 8,500 feet (1,800 to 2,600 m). The dominant tree species is the southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus brachyptera Engel.). Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) is a common associate of the ponderosa pine at lower elevations in the forest along with New Mexico locust (Robina neomexicana). At higher elevations, associates include southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis), Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca), Rocky Mountain white fir (Abies concolor var. concolor), and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). The average annual precipitation in this zone is 18 to 26 inches (460 to 660 mm).
- Mixed conifer forest – The elevation of this zone ranges from approximately 8,000 to 9,500 feet (2,400 to 2,900 m). Species such as Southwestern white pine (Pinus flexilis) form mixed stands in this community, with Ponderosa pine(Pinus brachyptera Engel.) joining the mix on warmer slopes. The average annual precipitation in the mixed conifer forest is 25 to 30 inches (640 to 760 mm).
- Subalpine conifer forest – The elevation of this zone varies from approximately 9,500 to 11,500 feet (2,900 to 3,500 m) feet. The dominant tree species of this zone are Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii subsp. engelmannii), corkbark fir (Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and the Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine. (Pinus aristata).[12]The average annual precipitation in the subalpine forest is 30 to 40 inches (760 to 1,020 mm).
- Alpine tundra – The San Francisco Peaks are the home of the only alpine tundra environment in Arizona, occupying 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) above 10,600 feet (3,200 m).[13][14] Only a few small herbaceous plants have established themselves in the tundra. One of these species, is the endemic and threatened San Francisco Peaks groundsel (Packera franciscana), which is found nowhere else in the world.[15][16] The average annual precipitation in the tundra is 35 to 40 inches (890 to 1,020 mm).
In native culture
The San Francisco Peaks have considerable religious significance to thirteen local
For the Hopi people, the San Francisco Peaks are associated with the
There are several names for the San Francisco Peaks in local languages:[8]
- Dookʼoʼoosłííd–(Navajo) (“Dookʼoʼoosłííd”, which means “the summit that never melts” or “the mountain peak that never thaws”.)
- Nuvaʼtukyaʼovi – (Hopi) (Nuvaʼtukyaʼovi, which means “place-of-snow-on-the-very-top”)
- Dził Tso – Dilzhe’e – (Apache)
- Tsii Bina – Aaʼku – (Acoma)
- Nuvaxatuh – Nuwuvi – (Southern Paiute)
- Hvehasahpatch or Huassapatch – Havasu ʼBaaja – (Havasupai)
- Wikʼhanbaja – Hwalʼbay – (Hualapai)
- Wi꞉mun Kwa – Yavapai
- Sunha Kʼhbchu Yalanne – A:shiwi (Zuni)
- ʼAmat ʼIikwe Nyava[19] – Hamakhav – (Mojave)
- Sierra sin Agua – (Spanish)
- The Peaks – (Anglo Arizonans)
See also
References
- ^ a b "Frisco". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
- ^ "History of the San Francisco Peaks and how they got their names". United States Forest Service. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
- ^ "The San Francisco Volcanic Field, Arizona". USGS factsheet. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
- ^ "San Francisco Peaks, AZ". NASA Earth Observatory. Archived from the original on 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-05-23.
- ^ a b Nasaw, Daniel (2011-10-19). "Indians oppose 'recycled' sewage for Arizona skiing". BBC News Magazine. BBC.
- ^ Hardy, James A. "The History of the San Francisco Peaks" (PDF). Flagstaff Visitor Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-17.
- ^ Cline, Platt (1976). They Came to the Mountain. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University with Old Town Press.
- ^ a b c Houk, Rose (2003). "San Francisco Peaks". The Mountains Know Arizona. Arizona Highways Books.
- ^ MacMillan, Leslie (August 19, 2013). "Diné activist protests wastewater-to-snow scheme". High Country News.
- ^ MacMillan, Leslie (September 26, 2012). "Resort's Snow Won't Be Pure This Year; It'll Be Sewage". New York Times.
- ^ "Biotic Communities of the Colorado Plateau". Northern Arizona University and United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ "Alpine Tundra" (PDF). Coconino National Forest Plan Revision. United States Forest Service. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
- ^ "Species Biology And Population Trend" (PDF). Arizona Game and Fish Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
- ^ "Alpine Tundra Biome". Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
- ^ Epple, Anne Orth; Epple, Lewis E. (1995). A Field Guide to the Plants of Arizona. Falcon Publishing.
- ^ "Kachina Peaks Wilderness". GORP. Archived from the original on 2010-05-13.
- ISBN 1-56085-008-6.[page needed]
- ^ ISSN 0011-3204.
- ^ Munro, P et al. A Mojave Dictionary Los Angeles: UCLA, 1992
Further reading
- Duffield, Wendell A. (1998). Volcanoes of Northern Arizona. Flagstaff: ISBN 0-938216-58-9.
- Waring, Gwendolyn L. (2018). The National History of the San Francisco Peaks. ISBN 978-0-692-11615-9.
External links
- Shaded relief map of the Peaks, showing locations of the principal peaks
- San Francisco Peaks at Coconino National Forest
- San Francisco Peak Trails at HikeArizona.COM
- Live webcam of the San Francisco Peaks
- Hart Prairie Preserve at Nature Conservancy