Mogollon Rim

Understand

For the purposes of this article, the Mogollon Rim is a region in Eastern Arizona taken to be between north-south roughly between Interstate 40 / Historic U.S. Route 66 of Northern Arizona and Interstate 10 of Southeast Arizona, and east-west between Southwest New Mexico and Greater Phoenix.

Geography

The Mogollon Rim is an escarpment defining the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, cutting across this region from the northwest to southeast.

The Colorado Plateau is largely made up of high desert, with scattered areas of forests. In the southwest corner of the Colorado Plateau lies the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. Much of the Plateau's landscape is related, in both appearance and geologic history, to the Grand Canyon. The nickname "Red Rock Country" suggests the brightly colored rock left bare to the view by dryness and erosion. Domes, hoodoos, fins, reefs, river narrows, natural bridges, and slot canyons are only some of the additional features typical of the Plateau.

South of the Mogollon Rim, much of the land lies from 4,000 to elevation, with the escarpment of the rim rising to about 8,000 ft. Extensive Ponderosa pine forests are found both on the slopes of the Rim and on the plateau north of it. Extensive boundary flora and fauna transition from the low desert to the south, up the escarpment, to the plateau.

History

Old West...

Copper mining...

Cities

• Holbrook – along Route 66 with Arizona "Old West" history of in its own right.
• Globe – a copper mining town back in the day and still today, with many historic buildings.
• Morenci – a copper mining town with a boom-bust cyclical history.
• Payson – home of the "world's oldest continuous rodeo".
• Safford – a copper mining town with another slice of low-desert to high-plateau transition.
• Show Low

Other destinations

• Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
• Alpine – small town amid the White Mountains; at elevation of 8000 ft, a summer-time favorite get-a-way from the desert heat.
• – high-country four-season sporting area. Biking, camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, nature viewing, wildlife viewing, skiing.

• Coconino National Forest.
• – from seemingly out of nowhere, a 20,000 USgal per minute rush of water comes from a series of springs at the bottom of a 1,600 ft canyon. A favorite swimming hole, once a hidden gem that many now know about. Call for current conditions, as accessibility can drastically change from one summer rainstorm to another.

• – filled with beautifully colored mineralized trees.

Get in

• Interstate 40 (I-40) runs east to west across northern Arizona and connects travelers with the cities of Flagstaff, Williams and Kingman. I-40 comes into Arizona from east after passing through Albuquerque, New Mexico and from the west after passing through Barstow and Needles, California. I-40 is positioned above the Mogollon Rim in elevation and is affected by heavy snowfall during winter months.
• U.S. Route 60 (US 60) runs (in a general) east to west across central Arizona, entering the state just south of I-40 from New Mexico. U.S. 60 runs through the White Mountains and the towns of Eagar and Springerville on its way to Globe and eventually, Phoenix.
• U.S. Route 70 (US 70) runs east-to-west, with its western terminus in Globe, through Safford and into New Mexico through Lordsburg.
• U.S. Route 180 (US 180) runs east-west, with its western terminus south of the Grand Canyon in Valle, through Flagstaff and into the Mogollon Rim region, through St. Johns and Alpine, and into New Mexico to Silver City.
• U.S. Route 191 (US 191) runs north-south from the US-Mexico border near Douglas, north to Safford through the Mogollon Rim region, through Alpine and St. Johns, continuing through the Navajo Nation and into Utah.

Get around

Due to the Rim, travel within the region often is not as straight-as-a-crow; even major highways like US 60 must meander around valleys, canyons and rivers.

A car is essential as there is no public transportation. To access some of the more remote off-road areas, a four-wheel drive is recommended.

Go next

• North – Northern Arizona — continue with geographic features at Arizona's higher elevations like in the Mogollon Rim:
• Canyon de Chelly National Monument.
• Monument Valley.
• Navajo Nation.
• Grand Canyon National Park.
• South – Southeast Arizona — drop down in elevation to the Sonoran Desert.
• Tombstone.
• East – Southwest New Mexico — desert and low-lying mountains, reaching east towards the Rio Grande.
• West – Greater Phoenix — maybe you're done with the high-country and want the city again.

Mogollon Rim