Mount Graham is in the South Eastern part of Arizona. It is 10,720 feet high. The campgrounds on the mountain are mostly around 9,000 feet. Mount Graham is part of a ridge line call the Pinaleno Mountains. Mount Graham contains more life zones than any other single mountain in North America, including the southern most spruce-fir forest on the continent. While parts of the Pinaleno mountains have been logged since the turn of the century, the high elevation, old-growth spruce-fir forest survived virtually intact until 1989. This zone houses numerous endemic plant and animal species, and many of the creatures discovered on Mount Graham have never been described or named. Mount Graham is home to the Red Squirrel, the Mexican Spotted Owl, the Peregrine Falcon, and the Apache Trout. The vistas seen from the high road on the Pinaleno ridge line is stunning. These pictures attempt to capture some of what can be seen. The mountain road that runs along the ridgeline is at 9,000 and the valley floors below are at 3,000 feet. These pictures were taken on the July 4th Weekend, 2006.

Mt. Graham is also home to the Vatican’s powerful binocular telescope. It’s one of the most powerful and newest telescopes in the world.