SR 79 is also notable for being the location where cowboy western actor Tom Mix died in a car accident on October 14, 1940.

SR 79 begins at an intersection with State Route 77 in the unincorporated locality of Oracle Junction.

From this point, it heads northwest through state owned land plentiful with Saguaro cacti on either side of the highway.

The southern portion of SR 79 from Oracle Junction to just south of Florence is designated Pinal Pioneer Parkway, a scenic road of the high desert plain with views of the Santa Catalina and Tortilla Mountains.

[2] The first 40 miles of SR 79 is mostly uninhabited wilderness, with only a handful of small ranching communities siding the highway on occasion.

The single-car high-speed accident led to his death after leaving the Oracle Junction Inn in 1940.

[3] Directly north of Florence, SR 79 crosses the Gila River and intersects with the eastern terminus of Hunt Highway.

After crossing the tracks of the abandoned Magma Arizona Railroad, SR 79 arrives at a diamond interchange with U.S. Route 60 Exit 212.

SR 79 continues for a short distance north of the interchange before ending at El Camino Viejo (old US 60) at the unincorporated locality of Florence Junction.

[8] On the afternoon of October 12, 1940, silent film actor Tom Mix died in a car accident on US 80/US 89 18.5 miles southeast of Florence, Arizona.

[12] SR 79 was designated as a segment of Historic U.S. Route 80 by the Arizona Department of Transportation in September 2018.

The road continues northbound to an intersection with Butte Ave, at a traffic light, where the highway turns east and passes the Pinal County Governmental Complex, it terminates at the junction with State Route 79 at the intersection of Butte Ave. and Pinal Parkway Avenue.