Introduction
The United States Congress designated the Eagletail Mountains Wilderness (
map) in 1990 and it now has a total of
97,880 acres.
All of this wilderness is located in
Arizona and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Description
Fifteen miles of the Eagletail Mountains' rough ridgeline run through the northern section of this Wilderness, including 3,300-foot Eagletail Peak. Cemetery Ridge lies along the southern border. Geology buffs can examine several distinct rock strata throughout these mountains, and everyone can marvel at such geologic wonders as natural arches, high spires and monoliths, jagged sawtooth ridges, and numerous washes between six and eight miles long. Courthouse Rock, a huge granite monolith, stands over 1,000 feet above the desert floor near the northern border and attracts technical rock climbers. Between the two main ridges stretches a vast desert plain of ocotillo, cholla, creosote, ironwood, saguaro cactus, barrel cactus, Mormon tea, mesquite, and sand. Summer temperatures rage and send up thermals upon which raptors ride as they scan the landscape for a desert rodent snack. The great horned owl and the coyote live here, but they keep themselves well hidden from backpackers, campers, and horseback riders.
