The Silver Bell Mountains are a northwest–southeast trending mountain range in north–central Pima County, Arizona.[1] The range lies 14 miles (23 km) west of Marana, Arizona, located on Interstate-10, northwest of Tucson.
The range is located to the east of the Ironwood Forest National Monument. Ragged Top, located in the north of the range, is a well-known landmark in this former mining region.
Description
The range is named after the Silver Bell Mine located at the southern end of the mountains. The range abuts the Waterman Mountains to the southeast, where palynology-(pollen) studies have shown some of the recent floristic history of Arizona during the Pliocene. Both ranges lie in the northeast Sonoran Desert; the Madrean Sky Island ranges begin just southeast of here, with the large, and most western sky island range, the Baboquivari Mountains-Quinlans 20–35 mi south.
The Silver Bell range can be accessed by Avra Valley Road and Silver Bell Road from the south of Marana.
Climate
Climate is characterized by extremely variable temperature conditions. The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Bsh" (Mid-Latitude Steppe and Desert Climate).[2]
| Climate data for Silver Bell Mountains | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 63 (17) |
66 (19) |
71 (22) |
79 (26) |
88 (31) |
98 (37) |
98 (37) |
96 (36) |
93 (34) |
84 (29) |
72 (22) |
62 (17) |
81 (27) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 43 (6) |
46 (8) |
49 (9) |
55 (13) |
63 (17) |
72 (22) |
74 (23) |
72 (22) |
70 (21) |
61 (16) |
51 (11) |
43 (6) |
58 (14) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.9 (23) |
0.9 (23) |
0.8 (20) |
0.2 (5.1) |
0.2 (5.1) |
0.3 (7.6) |
2.5 (64) |
2.5 (64) |
1.3 (33) |
1 (25) |
0.8 (20) |
1.3 (33) |
12.8 (330) |
| Source: Weatherbase [3] | |||||||||||||
See also
- Ironwood Forest National Monument
- List of mountain ranges of Pima County, Arizona
- List of mountain ranges of Arizona
References
- ^ Silver Bell East, AZ and Silver Bell West, AZ, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangles, USGS, 1989
- ^ Climate Summary for Silver Bell
- ^ "Weatherbase.com". Weatherbase. 2013. Retrieved on July 30, 2013.
External links
Silver Bell Peak
Ragged Top Peak