Читать книгу Backpacking Arizona. From Deep Canyons to Sky Islands онлайн

29 страница из 56

RIM COUNTRY

Mogollon Rim

The Mogollon (pronounced “mug-e-on”) Rim, an escarpment towering 2000 feet above the country to the south, runs across the state from the west end of the Grand Canyon to the Mogollon Mountains in New Mexico. The Mogollon Rim, which reaches elevations of 9300 feet, separates the Colorado Plateau from the central mountains. Just north of the Mogollon Rim, the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau is named the Mogollon Plateau. The plateau consists of a series of northward-draining canyons and intervening ridges, all covered with the world’s largest stand of ponderosa pines. Some of the canyons are protected as wilderness areas, and all of them form a serious barrier to travel. Most of the rim country lies within the Kaibab, Coconino, and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.

Cross-country backpacking below Powell Plateau, Grand Canyon National Park, ssss1

Near Iron Mountain, Superstition Wilderness

White Mountains

Volcanic activity created the White Mountains near the eastern end of the Mogollon Rim. This area of high mesas and rounded summits lies partially in the White Mountain Apache Reservation, and partially within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Several wilderness areas in the White Mountain region protect heavily forested 11,000-foot mountains, as well as semidesert canyons at elevations below 5000 feet. The area of most appeal to backpackers is the Blue Range Primitive Area, known locally as the “Blue.” This wild area straddles the Mogollon Rim east of the White Mountains.