The range is northwest-by-southeast trending and is in a region of about thirty landforms, plains, valleys, and mountain ranges, called the Maria fold and thrust belt.

The Granite Wash range is on the same water divide as the Little Harquahala's and at the southwest end of the McMullen Valley; to the east, the range and water divide forces the upland drainage areas of the Centennial Wash to turn from southwest- to southeast-flowing towards the Gila River at the Gila Bend Mountains.

To the west of the Granite Wash Mountains, the Bouse Wash flows northwest to the Colorado River, in the Lower Colorado River Valley.

Granite Wash Pass is located at the northwest end of the southern mountain pair, the Little Harquahala's; Hope is west and Harcuvar, Arizona is east.

The Bouse Wash flows northwest to the Colorado River; Centennial Wash (Maricopa County) is east and flows southeast to meet the Gila River at the great Gila Bend, adjacent the Gila Bend Mountains.