The San Francisco Peaks, with the Wupatki National Monument in the foreground

Composite image of the mountains, from satellite imagery projected onto an elevation model.

The San Francisco Peaks are the highest mountain range of Arizona, United States, and are located just north of Flagstaff in the north-central region of the state. The highest summit in the range is Humphreys Peak, 3,850 m (12,633 feet), situated at 35°20′47″N, 111°40′40″W. They consist of the remains of a once-higher group of extinct volcanoes.^[1] An aquifer within the caldera supplies much of Flagstaff's water while the mountain itself is the site of much outdoor recreation.^[2] San Francisco Mountains looking from Wupatki National Monument - USGS photo, source [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... San Francisco Mountains looking from Wupatki National Monument - USGS photo, source [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Wupatki National Monument, with the San Francisco Mountains beyond Wupatki National Monument is an area of north-central Arizona, rich in American Indian ruins, administered by the National Park Service in close conjunction with the nearby Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. ... Image File history File links SanFranciscoPeaks. ... Image File history File links SanFranciscoPeaks. ... A mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers. ... Official language(s) None Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Nickname: City of Seven Wonders Location Location in Coconino County the state of Arizona Coordinates , Government Country State County United States Arizona Coconino County Mayor Joseph C. Donaldson Geographical characteristics Area     City 63. ... Humphreys Peak is the highest point in the U.S. state of Arizona and is located in Coconino County. ... Smoking Bromo and Semeru (background) volcanoes on Java in Indonesia. ... An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, or permeable mixtures of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) (see also groundwater). ... Crater Lake, Oregon A caldera is a volcanic feature formed by the collapse of a volcano into itself. ...

The biologist Clinton Hart Merriam studied these mountains in 1889, describing a set of six 'life zones' found from the base to the summit of the mountains, based on the major components of their flora: A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ... Clinton Hart Merriam (December 5, 1855-March 19, 1942) was an American zoologist and ornithologist. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Life Zone concept was developed by C. Hart Merriam in 1889 as a means of describing areas with similar plant and animal communities. ... In Botany a Flora (or Floræ) is a collective term for plant life and can also refer to a descriptive catalogue of the plants of any geographical area, geological period, etc. ...

• Lower Sonoran Zone - Sonoran Desert plants
• Upper Sonoran Zone - Colorado Pinyon and juniper woods
• Transition Zone - Ponderosa Pine forests
• Canadian Zone - Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir and White Fir forest
• Hudsonian Zone - tree-line forests of Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine and Engelmann Spruce
• Arctic-Alpine Zone - alpine tundra
  

Merriam considered that these life zones could be extended to cover all the world's vegetation types with the addition of only one more zone, the tropical zone. His pioneering studies remained the one of the most widespread climate zone classifications, in use for nearly 80 years. Sonoran Desert wildlife Mountains in the Sonoran Desert 3D photograph of Saguaro National Park at dusk. ... Binomial name Pinus edulis Engelm. ... Species Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. ... Binomial name Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) is a widespread and very variable pine native to western North America. ... Pseudotsuga menziesii var. ... Binomial name Abies concolor (Gordon) Lindley ex Hildebrand White Fir (Abies concolor) is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at altitudes of 900-3,400 m. ... In this view of an alpine tree-line, the distant line looks particularly sharp. ... Binomial name Pinus aristata Engelm. ... Binomial name Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm. ... In physical geography, tundra is an area where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ...

In 1629 one hundred and forty seven years before the California city received its name, in honor of the same saint, Friars founded a misson at a Hopi Indian village sixty five miles from the peaks. 17th century Franciscans at Oraibi village gave the name San Francisco to the peaks to honor St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of their order.^[3] (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... Oraibi pueblo, circa 1899 Oraibi, also called Orayvi, is a Hopi pueblo in the U.S. state of Arizona. ... Saint Francis of Assisi (1182 – 4 October 1226) founded the Franciscan Order or Friars Minor. He is the patron saint of animals, merchants, Italy, Catholic action, and the environment. ...

The peaks have considerable religious significance to local Native American tribes (Havasupai, Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni.) The mountain provides a number of recreational opportunities, including snow skiing and hiking. Hart's Prairie is a well loved hiking area nestled just below the mountain's ski resort. Havasupai home, Arizona, 1887 The Havasupai are a Native American tribe inhabiting the western Grand Canyon area. ... Navajo hunters outside Sam Days Trading Post in 1887 The Navajo Nation (Navajo: Naabeehó Dineé) is a sovereign Native American Tribe of Indians, traditionally known as, Diné. The Navajo Indian Reservation covers about 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometres) of land, occupying all of northeastern Arizona, and... The Hopi are a Native American nation who primarily live on the 1. ... The Zuni (IPA: ) (also spelled Zuñi) or Ashiwi are a Native American tribe, one of the Pueblo peoples, most of whom live in the Pueblo of Zuñi on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, in western New Mexico. ... Members of the US Air Force skiing (and snowboarding) at Keystone Resorts 14th Annual SnoFest An alpine skier Deep powder skiing Skiing is the activity of gliding over snow using skis (originally wooden planks, now usually made from fiberglass or related composites), with metal edges, strapped to the feet... Beautiful natural scenes are common hiking destinations Hiking is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. ...

Sudden and relatively unpredictable weather changes in Fall or Spring have resulted in unexpected snow fall bringing death from exposure to unprepared hikers. Native Americans tell the stories of Kachina spirits appearing during deadly snowfalls on the peaks. Kachina doll In Pueblo religious practices, Kachina (also spelled Katsina) refers to three related things: Supernatural entities or spirits capable of influencing the natural world. ...

The four highest individual peaks in Arizona are contained in the range:

• Humphreys Peak, 3,850 m (12,633 feet)
• Agassiz Peak, 3,766m (12,356 feet)
• Fremont Peak, 3,648m (11,969 feet)
• Doyle Peak, 3,493m (11,460 feet)

Humphreys Peak is the highest point in the U.S. state of Arizona and is located in Coconino County. ...

References

1. ^ San Francisco Peaks. USGS factsheet. Retrieved on 2004-12-24.
2. ^ San Francisco Peaks, AZ. NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved on 2006-05-23.
3. ^ Cline, Platt (1976). They Came to the Mountain. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University with Old Town Press.