Granite Mountain, Mountain summit in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States.
Granite Mountain is a 7,628-foot (2,325 m) mountain at the northern end of the Sierra Prietas in Yavapai County, Arizona, covering about 12 square miles. Its southwest face has a sheer granite cliff roughly 500 feet (150 m) high. The mountain lies within the Granite Mountain Wilderness, managed as part of Prescott National Forest, and borders Skull Valley to the west.
Granite Mountain was long called Mount Gurley, after John A. Gurley, first governor of the Arizona Territory. Its granite, the Mint Wash Granodiorite, was named for exposures along Mint Wash east of the mountain, and zircons in it gave a U-Pb date of 1680 ± 16 million years ago. The mountain stands at the northern end of the Sierra Prietas.
The mountain is the namesake of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, the Prescott-based fire crew that died fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire on 30 June 2013. The Yavapai name for the peak is ʼWi:kvte:wa, and it was once called Mount Gurley after John A. Gurley, first governor of the Arizona Territory.
The summit is accessible via multiple trails, with most routes taking 2 to 3 hours and crossing challenging terrain with rocks and roots underfoot. Visitors should bring plenty of water and wear sturdy footwear, as the paths can be exposed and slippery in places.
The granite here is the Mint Wash Granodiorite, dated by zircons to 1680 ± 16 million years ago. Its gray to pink potassium feldspar crystals reach 3 cm, and the rock is almost everywhere undeformed. The southwest face drops as a sheer cliff about 500 feet high.
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