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22302 Hits
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78.27% Score
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9 Votes
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The Santa Catalina Mountains
The Santa Catalinas, just north of Tucson, are the largest range near the city. Towering more than 6,500 feet above town, they also provide a cool place to climb and hike when southern Arizona’s blistering summer sets in. The Catalinas also boast a huge variety of different hiking and climbing experiences. Some, like Mt. Lemmon and Mt. Bigelow, have roads which run to the top. Others, such as Rose Peak and Green Mountain, are a short stroll from the Catalina Highway. Many, like Prominent Point and The Cleaver, shed the climber's blood during a painful off-trail bushwhack through desert vegetation. And still others, such as Finger Rock, require rock climbing skills.
Special Conditions
The Catalinas a number of catastrophic forest fires. In the most recent (2020) over a hundred thousand acres burned; the area is still recovering. Loss of vegetation has facilitated erosion and flooding, and the natural dryness of the area slows revegetation. Please try to stay on the trails whenever possible, and if camping use existing sites and fire rings.
Catalina Summits
| Rank | Peak | Elevation | 7.5 minute Quadrangle | ||
| 1 | Mount Lemmon | 9,157 | Mt. Lemmon |  |
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| 2 | Mount Bigelow | 8,540 | Mount Bigelow | ||
| 3 | Marshall Peak | 8,300 | Mount Lemmon |  |
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| 4 | Cathedral Rock | 7,957 | Mount Lemmon |  |
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| 5 | Green Mountain | 7,904 | Mount Bigelow |  |
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| 6 | Samaniego Peak | 7,700 | Mount Lemmon |  |
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| 7 | UN 7693 | 7,693 | Mount Bigelow | ||
| 8 | Window Peak | 7,468 | Mount Lemmon |  |
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| 9 | Rose Peak | 7,303 | Mount Bigelow | ||
| 10 | UN 7281 "Guthrie Mountain" | 7,281 | Mount Bigelow |  |
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| 11 | Mt. Kimball | 7,258 | Oro Valley |  |
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| Mule Ears | 7,060 | Mount Lemmon | |||
| 12 | Rattlesnake Peak | 6,653 | Sabino Canyon |  |
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| 13 | Prominent Point | 6,628 | Tucson North |  |
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| 14 | UN 6512 | 6,512 | Agua Caliente Hill | ||
| 15 | Apache Peak | 6,441 | Oracle | ||
| Finger Rock | 6,420 | Tucson North |  |
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| 16 | Table Mountain | 6,265 | Oro Valley |  |
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| 17 | UN 6191 | 6,191 | Agua Caliente Hill | ||
| 18 | Airmen Peak | 6,100 | Agua Caliente Hill |  |
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| 19 | UN 6060 | 6,060 | Mount Bigelow | ||
| 20 | UN 6053 | 6,053 | Mount Bigelow | ||
| 21 | UN 6020 "Table Tooth" | 6,020 | Oro Valley |  |
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| UN 5968 | 5,968 | Agua Caliente Hill |  |
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| 22 | UN 5961 | 5,961 | Oracle | ||
| 23 | UN 5820 | 5,820 | Oracle | ||
| 24 | UN 5817 | 5,817 | Mount Bigelow | ||
| 25 | Gibbon Mountain | 5,801 | Agua Caliente Hill |  |
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| 26 | UN 5681 | 5,681 | Mount Bigelow | ||
| 27 | Bighorn Mountain | 5,660 | Oro Valley |  |
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| 28 | UN 5506 | 5,506 | Agua Caliente Hill | ||
| 29 | UN 5471 | 5,471 | Agua Caliente Hill | ||
| 30 | UN 5466 | 5,466 | Campo Bonito | ||
| 31 | UN 5420 | 5,420 | Oracle | ||
| 32 | UN 5420 | 5,420 | Sabino Canyon | ||
| 33 | Agua Caliente Hill | 5,369 | Agua Caliente Hill | ||
| 34 | Pusch Peak | 5,361 | Tucson North | |
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| 35 | Thimble Peak | 5,323 | Sabino Canyon |  |
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| 36 | Oracle Hill | 5,300 | Oracle | ||
| 37 | UN 5166 | 5,166 | Agua Caliente Hill | ||
| 38 | UN 5055 | 5,055 | Agua Caliente Hill | ||
| 39 | UN 5001 | 5,001 | Sabino Canyon |  |
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| 40 | UN 4940 | 4,940 | Oracle | ||
| UN 4910 "The Cleaver" | 4,910 | Tucson North |  |
Clicking on the small picture by a peak will take you to a picture of that peak.
Clicking on an underlined peak will take you to that peak's page on SummitPost.
An elevation in red is interpolated.
Catalina Summits, LIDAR, and the 300-foot rule....
Summits without ranking numbers on this list did not meet the most commonly accepted definition of an independent peak, that being the "300-foot rule." This means that the drop between them and a higher peak is less than 300 feet. In this case, they are considered part of that higher peak, rather than an independent mountain. The fact that they fail this somewhat arbitrary test is no reflection upon the difficulty of summit in question; after all, Finger Rock, which is the most technical climb on this list, is not itself an actual peak. Also, the advent of LIDAR has raised or lowered the formerly accepted elevations of these peaks - which are listed here - so changes to list and similar lists will be forthcoming.
10 Mountains & Rocks
Sarah Simon - Nov 24, 2012 5:22 pm - Voted 10/10
Newer peaks that need hyperlinksHi Walt, Here are a few peaks listed in your table that have pages on SP but do not yet have a hyperlink in the table on this page: http://www.summitpost.org/mount-bigelow/710530 http://www.summitpost.org/un-7281-guthrie-mountain/687848 http://www.summitpost.org/pusch-peak/678480 ¡Gracias! Sarah
Andinistaloco - Nov 26, 2012 11:41 pm - Hasn't voted
Wow...You've been hard at work. Damn it, I need to dust off the html book and add those....
Sarah Simon - Mar 31, 2014 12:54 am - Voted 10/10
Re: Wow...Hey, hombre... I noticed that the noteworthy monarch of the Santa Catalina's is missing from this page! (It just needs to be attached.) ;) Better talk to the Lemmon page owner ;) http://www.summitpost.org/mt-lemmon/151231 Sarah
Andinistaloco - Apr 6, 2014 9:01 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Wow...That slack ass owner... Thanks! No idea how that happened... I remember redoing that page and I would've sworn I attached it then. D'oh. How've you been? Getting any climbing done? This hasn't been my most spectacular climbing year, but it seems about to get better....
Sarah Simon - Apr 18, 2014 7:52 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: Wow...Who's the slacker? I just now saw your note! Meh, I'm in a bit of a slump. Been traveling a ton for work - I'm not exactly up for anything hardcore when I only get home for 40 hours over a weekend then hit the road again! No worries, I'll enjoy mellow little hikes each weekend before hitting it hard again! I miss Arizona already... :-( Sarah
Andinistaloco - Jul 8, 2014 12:37 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Wow...Me! Hell, I'm not even sure I remember how to attach stuff, although I'm off to have a look now. Dig the new profile shot, btw. Sorry you've been too busy to climb much... I just quit my job, thus giving myself plenty of time... and then crippled my left hand. Sheeeesh. I guess it's peakbagging and hiking this summer. :/