AT A GLANCE
Why go?
The Big Horn Mountains rise from the Sonoran Desert roughly 60 miles west of Phoenix, forming a jagged volcanic wilderness of jagged ridges, narrow canyons, and towering rock spires. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, this 21,000-acre area is one of the most remote and least-visited wilderness destinations in Arizona — a place where silence is broken only by wind and the distant call of golden eagles circling the cliffs.↗↗
Dominating the landscape is the precipitous Big Horn Peak, a 1,800-foot escarpment that gives the wilderness its exceptional scenic character, particularly visible to travelers on Interstate 10 passing to the south. Nine miles of the jumbled ridgeline cross the area, surrounded by smaller hills, fissures, chimneys, and desert plains — a geological story written in volcanic upheaval during the early Tertiary Period.↗↗
A Volcanic Backbone in the Desert
The Big Horn Mountains were formed as the result of volcanic upheaval during the early Tertiary Period — the same geological forces that shaped many prominent ranges in this region of Arizona. At the center sits Big Horn Peak itself, a volcanic neck or plug that rises aggressively above the surrounding desert floor, its flanks carved by erosion into a maze of cliffs, chimneys, and narrow canyons.
