Mount Lemmon, highest point in Pima County, Arizona
Posted by: tugies
N 32° 26.583 W 110° 47.300
12S E 519896 N 3589565
Mount Lemmon, at over 9,000', is the highest point in Pima County.
Waymark Code: WMJQ6R
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 12/16/2013
Views: 25
Mount Lemmon is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains, located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. The regional Native American nation O'odham call it Babad Do'ag. Peak elevation is 9157 ft (2791 m). It receives about 57 inches (1.4 m) of snow annually. Mount Lemmon received its English name in honor of botanist Sarah Plummer Lemmon, who trekked to the top of the mountain with Native American guides by mule and foot in 1881.
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.
At the peak is the Mount Lemmon Observatory. 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, and The Mount Lemmon Sky Center, The University of Arizona Astronomy Camp program,
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.
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.
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