Mount Lemmon

Mount Lemmon, with a summit elevation of 9,159 feet (2,792 m),[1] is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Mount Lemmon was named for botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon, who trekked to the top of the mountain with her husband and E. O. Stratton, a local rancher, by horse and foot in 1881.[3][4] It is reported that Mount Lemmon Ski Valley, on the mountain's northeastern side, receives 200 inches (508 cm) of snow annually.[5]

Mount Lemmon
View of Mount Lemmon from the western side of Tucson
Highest point
Elevation9,171 ft (2,795 m)  NAVD 88[1]
Prominence5,157 ft (1,572 m) [2]
Listing
Coordinates32°26′35″N 110°47′19″W [1]
Geography
Mount Lemmon
LocationTucson, Pima County, Arizona, U.S.
Parent rangeSanta Catalina Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Mount Lemmon
Climbing
Easiest routeCatalina Highway

Geography

Climate

The summit of the mountain is approximately twenty degrees cooler than the base. Therefore, large amounts of snow fall during the winter months, making it a cool escape and popular tourist attraction for Tucson and Phoenix inhabitants.

Climate data for Mount Lemmon, Arizona (1958-2009)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 65
(18)		 65
(18)		 68
(20)		 74
(23)		 82
(28)		 91
(33)		 89
(32)		 82
(28)		 81
(27)		 76
(24)		 71
(22)		 65
(18)		 91
(33)
Average high °F (°C) 49.2
(9.6)		 48.3
(9.1)		 52.9
(11.6)		 60.8
(16.0)		 69.1
(20.6)		 76.4
(24.7)		 76.5
(24.7)		 73.6
(23.1)		 70.4
(21.3)		 61.7
(16.5)		 56.3
(13.5)		 50.6
(10.3)		 62.2
(16.8)
Average low °F (°C) 22.8
(−5.1)		 21.8
(−5.7)		 25.7
(−3.5)		 31.7
(−0.2)		 36.6
(2.6)		 44.4
(6.9)		 49.8
(9.9)		 49.8
(9.9)		 45.1
(7.3)		 36.4
(2.4)		 29.7
(−1.3)		 24.3
(−4.3)		 34.8
(1.6)
Record low °F (°C) −4
(−20)		 −7
(−22)		 −1
(−18)		 19
(−7)		 27
(−3)		 32
(0)		 39
(4)		 42
(6)		 31
(−1)		 20
(−7)		 4
(−16)		 4
(−16)		 −7
(−22)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.15
(80)		 1.69
(43)		 1.17
(30)		 0.50
(13)		 0.25
(6.4)		 0.62
(16)		 4.41
(112)		 6.99
(178)		 3.39
(86)		 3.05
(77)		 1.75
(44)		 2.60
(66)		 29.56
(751)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 16.5
(42)		 20.4
(52)		 6.8
(17)		 2.0
(5.1)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 2.0
(5.1)		 6.2
(16)		 11.0
(28)		 64.9
(165)
Average precipitation days 5 5 5 3 2 2 10 11 5 3 3 5 59
Mean monthly sunshine hours 241 243 299 325 374 372 327 319 315 301 260 242 3,618
Source: Western Region Climate Center [6]

Geology

Mount Lemmon is made up of Bolsa Quartzite, Dripping Spring Quartzite, and a local sandstone and conglomerate. The portions have been intruded by a Diabase Dike of the Apace Group.[7]

Summerhaven
Summerhaven, Cookie Cabin

Summerhaven is a small town near the top of the mountain. It is a summer residence for many but there are some year round residents. There are many small cabins most of which were rebuilt after the Aspen Fire of July 2003.[8]

Mount Lemmon Station Observatory
Main article: Mount Lemmon Observatory

At the peak is the Mount Lemmon Observatory, which was formerly the site of a USAF radar base of the Air Defense Command,[9] and the building that formerly housed a military emergency radar tracking station for landing the Space Shuttle at White Sands Missile Range. Although the United States military had a presence on the mountain for several decades all their facilities have been abandoned and were given to the United States Forest Service. The area and buildings that makes up the Mount Lemmon Station Observatory are leased from the Forest Service by the University of Arizona. The telescopes on the mountain are still used for astronomical research today by organizations such as the Catalina Sky Survey, the Mount Lemmon Sky Center,[10] the University of Arizona Astronomy Camp program,[11] the University of Arizona, and the University of Minnesota. The educational resources at the top of the mountain make it a unique research and teaching destination.

Catalina Highway
Catalina Highway in the Santa Catalina Mountains

The Catalina Highway, also called the Mount Lemmon Highway, as well as the Hitchcock Highway (after Frank Harris Hitchcock) runs up the Santa Catalina Mountains from the east side of Tucson up to Summerhaven, at the top of Mt. Lemmon. The beautiful, curving road is a favorite drive for tourists, for locals escaping summer's heat and cyclists, and has been recently designated as the Sky Island Parkway, part of the US National Scenic Byway system.[12]

2010 saw the inaugural running of the Mount Lemmon Marathon.[13]

Fees and permits

Catalina Highway charges tolls for parking, camping, and hiking. However, the tolls are only officially charged for people who are camping. Tolls for other events, such as hiking, parking, or grilling, are a part of the honor system. Park rangers will not check for toll payments unless someone is using the park campgrounds. Anyone wishing to sightsee or travel to Summerhaven are not subjected to paying tolls.

Back side

An unpaved road to the summit on the north side of Mount Lemmon starts in Oracle, which is on Arizona Route 77 north of Tucson. It offers a secondary route to the top. This route is popular with off-road 4x4 drivers and with off-road or dual-purpose motorcyclists. This road ends at the Catalina Highway near Loma Linda. Before the Catalina Highway was built it was the only route up the mountain.[14]

  • Hoodoos, Santa Catalina Mountains
  • Remnants of the 2003 Aspen Fire
  • Mount Lemmon Ski Valley
  • Cabins atop Mt Lemmon in Summerhaven
  • View of the telescopes on Mount Lemmon
  • View of Mount Lemmon from Oracle, AZ
  • Unpaved road on the north or "backside" of Mount Lemmon
  • Catalina Highway climbing Mount Lemmon
  • Stereograph of the Mt Lemmon Highway near Windy Point Vista.

See also

References
  1. "Catalina 2 Reset". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  2. "Mount Lemmon, Arizona". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  3. "California Beat Hero: Sara Plummer Lemmon". CaliforniaBeat.org. May 27, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  4. Lemmon, J.G. (1881). "A botanical wedding trip" (PDF). Californian vol. 5. no. 24. pp. 517–525. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015.
  5. "Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley". SkiTown.com. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  6. "Mount Lemmon, Arizona Climate Summary". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  7. Bezy, John V. (2016). A Guide to the Geology of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona: The Geology and Life Zones of a Madrean Sky Island (PDF) (Down to Earth #22 ed.). Tucson, AZ: The Arizona Geological Survey. ISBN 978-0-9854798-2-4. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  8. Faherty, John. "Town of Summerhaven back after devastating fire". AZ Central. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  9. "Air Defense Radar Stations". Radomes Inc. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  10. "SkyCenter". University of Arizona. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  11. "Astronomy Camp". University of Arizona SkyCenter. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  12. "Name change to Sky Island Parkway". Arizona Dept. of Transportation. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
  13. Lacey, Marc (October 17, 2010). "A Finish Line With a Real High: 8,000 Feet". New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  14. "Backway to Mount Lemmon". Trails.com. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
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