Mazatzal Mountains

The origin of the name remains obscure but one possibility is that it is from the Nahuatl language meaning "place of the deer".

They also include the Four Peaks, with elevation 7,659 ft, 2,334 m; a prominent mountain and landmark of the eastern Phoenix area.

The eastern side of the wilderness consists of brush- or pine-covered mountains, sometimes broken by narrow, vertical-walled canyons.

On its west side below the steep brush-covered foothills, the Verde River flows through the Sonoran Desert.

Besides its occurrence in the Grand Canyon, it is also found west, in the Las Vegas Valley, at Frenchman Mountain.

East side of the Mazatzal Mountains, March 2010
Four Peaks with a snow dusting, from the McDowell Sonoran Preserve , Scottsdale. January 2016
The Four Peaks in the Mazatzal Mountains