In 1960 actor Walter Brennan had a hit song called "Dutchman's Gold." (See Wikipedia) The song was pretty terrible even though it was a hit. In the song, Brennan makes reference to "the mighty Superstition Mountain, standing high and all alone." Well, you might call that poetic license, but perhaps he had just never seen the Superstitions up close. The Superstition Mountains stretch eastward, just from the edge of the city of Apache Junction, and include an ill-defined area to the north and east. Most people consider the Superstitions to be contiguous with the Superstition Wilderness Area.
Looking from the west towards the mountains, the main Superstition Mountain is one of the eastern Salt River Valley's most prominent features. The mountains are primarily extrusive igneous rocks created as a result of volcanic action. The rocks themselves are mainly dacite, andesite, rhyolite, tuff and breccias. Contrary to legend, the actual wilderness area has never shown any degree of mineralization. There has been extensive core drilling for minerals and no major mineral discoveries have ever been made. Hence, the possibility that there is a lost mine in the Superstition Wilderness Area is almost zero. However, there is extensive mineralization to the east, north and west of the mountains.
The view above is taken from the south, looking towards the northwest. The prominent mountain highlighted in the background is known as the Flatiron. It is most prominent in pictures taken from the western slopes of the mountains and from the east valley. One of the more common theories about the origin of the mountains involves volcanic activity and several overlapping calderas. The terrain is extremely rugged and the deep canyons run in a variety of directions leading to the confusion of hikers in the area. The main peak of the Flatiron group is around 5057 feet high depending on your source, but the Flatiron itself is around 4800 feet.
The edges of the Superstitions are one of the most visited locations in Arizona. But if you spend a little while hiking you will soon reach areas that are hardly ever visited. Hiking to Hieroglyphic Canyon on a cool weekend day may seem closer to a stroll though the Mall, but other parts of the Wilderness area are extremely isolated due primarily to the rugged terrain and lack of water.
Looking from the west towards the mountains, the main Superstition Mountain is one of the eastern Salt River Valley's most prominent features. The mountains are primarily extrusive igneous rocks created as a result of volcanic action. The rocks themselves are mainly dacite, andesite, rhyolite, tuff and breccias. Contrary to legend, the actual wilderness area has never shown any degree of mineralization. There has been extensive core drilling for minerals and no major mineral discoveries have ever been made. Hence, the possibility that there is a lost mine in the Superstition Wilderness Area is almost zero. However, there is extensive mineralization to the east, north and west of the mountains.
The view above is taken from the south, looking towards the northwest. The prominent mountain highlighted in the background is known as the Flatiron. It is most prominent in pictures taken from the western slopes of the mountains and from the east valley. One of the more common theories about the origin of the mountains involves volcanic activity and several overlapping calderas. The terrain is extremely rugged and the deep canyons run in a variety of directions leading to the confusion of hikers in the area. The main peak of the Flatiron group is around 5057 feet high depending on your source, but the Flatiron itself is around 4800 feet.
The edges of the Superstitions are one of the most visited locations in Arizona. But if you spend a little while hiking you will soon reach areas that are hardly ever visited. Hiking to Hieroglyphic Canyon on a cool weekend day may seem closer to a stroll though the Mall, but other parts of the Wilderness area are extremely isolated due primarily to the rugged terrain and lack of water.
No comments:
Post a Comment