The White Mountains of Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 are a mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

 and mountainous region in the eastern part of the state, near the border with New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

; it is a continuation from the west of the Arizona transition zone

Arizona transition zone

The Arizona transition zone, or Transition zone is a diagonal northwest-by-southeast region across central Arizona. The region is a transition from the higher elevation Colorado Plateau to the northeast in Northeast Arizona and the Basin and Range region of southwest and south regions of lower...

–Mogollon Rim

Mogollon Rim

The Mogollon Rim is a topographical and geological feature running across the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately from northern Yavapai County eastward to near the border with New Mexico.-Description:...

, with the Rim ending in western New Mexico. The White Mountains are a part of the Colorado Plateau

Colorado Plateau

The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. The province covers an area of 337,000 km2 within western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico,...

 high country of Northeast Arizona

Northeast Arizona

Northeast Arizona is a region of the U.S. state of Arizona commonly including Apache County and Navajo County. Some notable towns there are St. Johns, Eagar, Holbrook, Show Low, Winslow, Window Rock, Fort Defiance, Ganado, Chinle, and Kayenta....

, the Navajo Nation

Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...

, with the rest of the Plateau in eastern Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, northwest New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. Nearby communities include Show Low

Show Low, Arizona

Winters in Show Low bring highs between 45°F and 55°F , with lows usually below freezing between November and March, averaging in the 20s December through February, and in the low 30s for November and March....

, Pinetop-Lakeside

Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona

Pinetop-Lakeside is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 4,156. It was founded in 1984 when the neighboring towns of Pinetop and Lakeside merged....

, Greer

Greer, Arizona

Greer is an unincorporated community in Apache County, Arizona, United States. It lies at an elevation of approximately 8,500 feet in the White Mountains of Arizona, and is surrounded by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Greer was founded around 1879 by Mormon settlers from Utah...

, Springerville

Springerville, Arizona

Springerville is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP code is 85938. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 1,956.Springerville sits at an elevation of 6,974 feet...

, Eagar

Eagar, Arizona

Eagar is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 4,126.Eagar was first settled in 1871.-Geography:Eagar is located at ....

,and McNary

McNary, Arizona

McNary is a census-designated place in Apache and Navajo counties in the U.S. state of Arizona. The population was 349 at the 2000 census...

. Much of the range is within the Fort Apache Indian Reservation

Fort Apache Indian Reservation

The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, a Western Apache tribe. It has a land area of 2,627.608...

.

The highest summit is Mount Baldy

Mount Baldy (Arizona)

Mount Baldy is a mountain in northeastern Arizona in the United States. It is the highest point in the White Mountains, making it the highest point in Apache County. It is the second highest point in the state after the six summits of the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff...

, with an elevation of 11400 feet (3,475 m).
The mountains are drained to the south by several tributaries of the Salt River

Salt River (Arizona)

The Salt River is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about long. Its drainage basin is about large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the Verde River...

, and to the north by the Little Colorado River

Little Colorado River

The Little Colorado River is a river in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico...

. There are several small lakes.

The part of the White Mountains outside the reservation is in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest is a United States National Forest which runs along the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains in east-central Arizona and extending into New Mexico, USA. Both forests are managed as one unit by USDA Forest Service from the forest headquarters in Springerville,...

.

External links

• Google Maps satellite photo