This page features the top 100 Arizona Peaks by prominence. Many have SummitPost pages, a lot do not. The Top 50 - "The Fifty Finest" - is a popular goal among hikers and climbers in the state. Those seeking the 2,000-foot prominences will be interested in all peaks down to spot 73. Finally, the remaining peaks in the top 100 are listed. Curiously, many of these do not have SummitPost pages... yet...

I will be creating lists for the remaining peaks very soon, plus adding photos and some color.

12/29/06 - still working on the page...
1/2/07 - added a map, still want to add some more stuff...
1/3/07 - added some info on the obscure peaks, fixed some goofs, still tweaking the page.
2/27/07 - added some more links to newly created pages.
3/8/07 - more linkage.
3/20/07 - Yet more linkage, clean-up.
8/15/07 - More linking.
9/17/07 - Re-ordering of some peaks based on updated figures.
1/25/08 - More attaching of pages
2/26/08 - Ditto
4/23/08 - Same
4/17/09 - Added "Hall of Fame"
7/12/10 - Added links, deleted some others.
4/5/11 - added more links.
10/28/11 - More links.
12/16/11 - That linking thing again.

The Top 50 • Mountains Ranked 1-50 by Prominence

The top 50 mountains in Arizona, by prominence. This list is courtesy of Aaron Maizlish's site at this link. A number of people have submitted information to Aaron's list and the list changes as more detailed information comes in - sometimes a peak will move up or down a notch when a more exact prominence figure is determined. Each peak is linked to its summitpost page or in rare cases, to my own report at www.surgent.net. Those without links do not have (yet) summitpost pages.

Rank Peak Name Elevation Prominence Range County
1 Mount Graham 10,720 6,340 Pinaleno Graham
2 Humphreys Peak 12,633 6,039 San Francisco Coconino
3 Mount Lemmon 9,157 5,177 Catalina Pima
4 Chiricahua Peak 9,759 5,149 Chiricahua Cochise
5 Miller Peak 9,466 5,011 Huachuca Cochise
6 Baldy Peak 11,420 4,728 White Apache - White Mtn/Apache IR
7 Mica Mountain 8,664 4,604 Rincon Pima - Saguaro NP
8 Mount Wrightson 9,453 4,591 Santa Rita Santa Cruz
9 Hualapai Peak 8,417 4,447 Hualapai Mohave
10 Baboquivari Peak 7,734 4,204 Baboquivari Pima - Tohono O'odham IR
11 Pinal Peak 7,848 4,086 Pinal Gila
12 Mazatzal Peak 7,903 3,963 Mazatzal Gila/Yavapai
13 Mount Tipton 7,148 3,638 Cerbat Mohave
14 Kaibab Plateau HP 9,220 3,610 Kaibab Plateau Coconino
15 Mount Turnbull 8,282 3,582 Santa Teresa Graham - San Carlos IR
16 Signal Peak 4,877 3,487 Kofa Yuma
17 Harquahala Mountain 5,681 3,471 Harquahala La Paz
18 Browns Peak 7,657 3,317 Mazatzal Maricopa/Gila
19 Dos Cabezas Peaks 8,354 3,244 Dos Cabezas Cochise
20 Mount Wilson 5,445 3,225 Black Mohave
21 Sierra Estrella 4,512 3,217 Estrella Maricopa
22 Roof Butte 9,820 3,170 Chuska Apache - Navajo IR
23 Bassett Peak 7,663 3,133 Galiuro Graham
24 Crossman Peak 5,100 3,120 Mojave Mohave
25 Mount Trumbull 8,029 2,974 Uinkaret Mohave
26 Mount Union 7,979 2,949 Bradshaw Yavapai
27 Woodchute Mountain 7,860 2,930 Black Hills Yavapai
28 Mount Bangs 8,012 2,912 Virgin Mohave
29-T Apache Peak 7,711 2,899 Whetstone Cochise
29-T Mount Glenn 7,519 2,899 Dragoon Cochise
31 Smith Peak 5,242 2,797 Harcuvar La Paz
32 Pastora Peak 9,407 2,707 Carrizo Apache - Navajo IR
33 Mount Ajo 4,808 2,703 Ajo Pima - Tohono O'odham IR
34 Mts Ballard/Fissure 7,370 2,680 Mule Cochise
35 Gu Achi Peak 4,556 2,646 Santa Rosa Pima - Tohono O'odham IR
36 Apache Peaks 6,940 2,600 Blackjack Gila
37 Newman Peak 4,506 2,531 Picacho Pinal
38 White Tank Mountains 4,083 2,513 White Tank Maricopa
39 Pinnacle Ridge 7,550 2,490 Santa Teresa Graham
40-T Kendrick Peak 10,418 2,488 S. F. Volcanic Field Coconino
40-T Aztec Peak 7,748 2,488 Ancha Gila
42 Keystone Peak 6,188 2,458 Sierrita Pima
43 Mount Ord 7,128 2,428 Mazatzal Maricopa/Gila
44 Guthrie Peak 6,571 2,401 N. Peloncillo Greenlee
45 Maple Peak 8,294 2,394 Sierra Aguilada Greenlee
46 Escudilla Mountain 10,912 2,382 White Apache
47 Reiley Peak 7,660 2,360 Winchester Graham
48 Coyote Peak 6,529 2,349 Coyote Pima
49 Table Top 4,373 2,338 Table Top Pinal
50 Sheep Mountain 3,156 2,331 Gila Yuma

Peaks 51-73 • Mountains above 2,000 ft of Prominence

Here are the remaining 23 peaks that comprise the set of 73 peaks in Arizona with at least 2,000 feet of prominence. Again, the bulk of the information is derived from Aaron Maizlish's fine list at this link.

Rank Peak Name Elevation Prominence Range County
51 Bill Williams Mountain 9,256 2,306 Bill Williams Coconino
52 Rincon Peak 8,482 2,302 Rincon Pima
53 Bryce Mountain 7,298 2,233 Gila Graham
54 Grand Wash Cliffs HP 6,769 2,219 Grand Wash Cliffs Mohave - Hualapai IR
55 Peloncillo Mountains 6,540 2,213 Peloncillo Cochise
56 Weaver Peak* 6,574 2,154 Weaver Yavapai
57 Cunningham Mountain 3,316 2,146 Dome Rock La Paz
58 Mohawk Mountains HP 2,775 2,143 Mohawk Yuma
59 Wasson Peak 4,687 2,122 Tucson Pima - Saguaro NP
60 Peacock Peak 6,292 2,112 Peacock Mohave
61 Castle Dome Peak 3,788 2,098 Castle Dome Yuma
62 Kitt Peak 6,880 2,092 Quinlan Pima - Tohono O'odham IR
63 Woolsey Peak 3,171 2,081 Gila Bend Maricopa
64 Pine Mountain 6,814 2,074 Verde Rim Yavapai
65 Mohon Peak 7,499 2,064 Mohon Yavapai
66 Harcuvar Peak 4,618 2,048 Harcuvar La Paz
67 Mount Perkins 5,456 2,046 Black Mohave
68 Swisshelm Mountain* 7,185 2,045 Swisshelm Cochise
69 South Mountain 4,170 2,040 South Pima - Tohono O'odham IR
70 Mae West Peaks 6,726 2,036 Little Dragoon Cochise
71 Silver Peak 8,008 2,028 Portal Cochise
72 Turtle Mountain 7,004 2,024 Turtle Graham
73 Sierra Pinta 2,950 2,020 Pinta Yuma

* Denotes a non-SP page

Peaks 74 - 100 • Rounding Out the Top 100

This list rounds out the top 100 peaks by prominence in Arizona. Surprisingly few have Summitpost Pages and many are not very well known peaks at all. A few, however, are popular hikes. A couple are extremely tough customers: Eagletail Peak involves some fairly hairy exposed climbing, while Vishnu Temple is actually an eroded formation completely within the Grand Canyon, reguiring a hefty downhike just to get to it, then some technical climbing to achieve its top. This list is the result of a compilation by Andy Martin, et al, at this link.

Rank Peak Name Elevation Prominence Range County
74 Cimarron Peak 4,124 1,984 Cimarron Pima - Tohono O'odham IR
75 Mount Devine 4,783 1,983 Comobabi Pima - Tohono O'odham IR
76 Copper Mountains HP 2,888 1,968 Copper Yuma
77 Atascosa Peak 6,422 1,960 Atascosa Santa Cruz
78 Sitgreaves Mountain 9,389 1,949 S. F. Volcanic Field Coconino
79 Towers Mountain 7,628 1,948 Bradshaw Yavapai
80 San Cayetano Peak 6,007 1,924 San Cayetano Santa Cruz
81 Silver Bell Peak 4,261 1,921 Silver Bell Pima
82 Cathedral Rock 7,957 1,917 Catalina Pima
83 Cochise Head 8,113 1,913 Chiricahua Cochise
84 Huachuca Peak 8,410 1,910 Huachuca Cochise
85 Black Mountain 5,587 1,907 Black Pinal
86 Buckskin Mountain 3,917 1,887 Buckskin La Paz
87 Eagletail Peak 3,300 1,880 Eagletail Maricopa
88 Mitchell Peak 7,951 1,831 White Greenlee
89 Cabeza Prieta Mountains 2,830 1,830 Cabeza Prieta Yuma
90 Superstition Mountains HP 5,057 1,817 Superstition Pinal
91 Vishnu Temple 7,533 1,813 Grand Canyon Coconino
92 El Capitan Mountains 6,568 1,808 El Capitan Gila
93 Black Mesa 8,168 1,808 Black Mesa Navajo
94 Whitlock Mountains HP 5,682 1,782 Whitlock Graham
95 O'Leary Peak 8,938 1,778 S. F. Volcanic Field Coconino
96 Saddle Mountain 3,037 1,777 Saddle Maricopa
97 Mount Nutt 5,216 1,777 Black Mohave
98 West Cedar 5,489 1,769 Yavapai
99 Mesquite Mountains HP 3,789 1,769 Mesquite Pima
100 Mount Dellenbaugh 7,072 1,752 Shivwitz Mohave

The 1,000-foot Prominence Peak List!

A complete listing of the 430+ peaks in Arizona that exceed 1,000 feet prominence:

Arizona's P1000 List

Reference Map

The map below is a guide to the location of the Arizona P2K peaks (#1-73).

Poor Navajo County has just one top-100 prominent peak, but nothing above 2,000-feet of prominence.

A better map showing landforms and lineages can be found here.

Notes on the other peaks

Here is some very thumbnail info on some of the peaks above without summitpost pages. Some is based on my own experience and attempts and some is based on talking with others.

• Gu Achi Peak: A large, attractive rounded summit on the Tohono O'odham Nation in southern Arizona. A mine road gets high on its east ridge. Andy Martin reported the hike up this ridge was manageable. Main issue: roads to the peak, getting permission from the TON.
• Pinnacle Ridge: Bob Martin also wrote about this one in his book, mentioning some interesting route finding and rock-scrambling.
• Grand Wash Cliffs: Need to cross parts of the Hualapai Nation via Reference Point Canyon off of Buck and Doe Road, or a long canyon approach from the west.
• South Mountain: Located near Sells on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation in southern Arizona. Remote, sandy roads. It's been climbed. Reported to be bushwhack, some rock, moderate effort. Watch out for robberies in the area.

Hall of Fame

The following is a list of completers of this list, subdivided into three categories: The Top 50, the 73 P2Ks, and the top 100. Dates are provided if known. List is maintained by Andy Martin (oldadit@gmail.com).

Top 50 (Fifty Finest)
---------------------
Bob Packard (12/1/03)
John Vitz
Bob Martin
Dave Jurasevich
Barb Lilley (2008)
Andy Bates (5/18/2000)
Andy Martin (2/1/2003)
Mark Nichols
John Hamann (4/9/2009)
Scott Casterlin (2009)

AZ P2Ks (Top 73)
(* excludes Mt Turnbull)
---------------------
73 Bob Packard (2/24/04)
73 Andy Bates
73 John Hamann (2009)
73 Andy Martin (c. 2004)
73 Scott Casterlin (2009)
72 Mark Nicholls*
72 John Vitz*

62 Scott Surgent
56 Scott Peavy
51 Scott Kelley
30 Chris Gilsdorf
(As of 2-14-12)

Top 100
---------------------
Bob Packard (4/24/04)
Andy Bates

Images