Superstition Mountain, Mountain peak in Apache Junction, United States

Superstition Mountain anchors the west end of the Superstition Mountains, 43 miles east of Phoenix and immediately west of Apache Junction. It rises about 3,000 feet above the Salt River Valley and has two major peaks: Superstition Peak, or Peak 5057, near Hieroglyphic Canyon, and Peak 5024 above Lost Dutchman State Park near the Flatiron. Trails serve hikers and horseback riders.

The name "Superstition Mountains" first appeared on an 1872 map, with the singular form on an 1874 map. The first mining claim, the Buckhorn Claim (later Palmer Mine), was staked in 1886, and at least 15 gold mines were established nearby, including the Mammoth and Bull Dog mines. The legend of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine still draws treasure hunters, though prospecting is now restricted in the Superstition Wilderness, established in 1964 and expanded to about 160,200 acres in 1984.

The Akimel O'odham called it "kakatak tamai", or "Crooked-Top Mountain", as recorded by local historian Tom Kollenborn. The name "Superstition Mountains" first appears on an 1872 map, with the singular form on an 1874 map; a 1927 map also labels it "Monte de Espuma". The mountain anchors the legend of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine, and treasure hunters still search the Superstition Wilderness, where prospecting and mining are strictly limited.

Superstition Mountain lies 43 miles east of Phoenix, with Apache Junction immediately west and Gold Canyon south. The Apache Trail runs along its western base, built between 1903 and 1905 to link Mesa with Roosevelt Dam. Trails leave from Lost Dutchman State Park below Peak 5024 and the Flatiron; the Superstition Wilderness, established in 1964 and enlarged to about 160,200 acres in 1984, restricts prospecting and mining.

The mountain's two main summits are Superstition Peak, about 5,059 feet, near Hieroglyphic Canyon, and Peak 5024 above Lost Dutchman State Park, beside the Flatiron. The first survey benchmark was placed on Superstition Peak in 1899. A 1948 crash of a World War II training aircraft occurred on the west side in Monument Canyon.