Sierra Ancha

The Sierra Ancha is penetrated by few improved roads, and the range is cut by numerous deep, spectacular canyons, particularly on its eastern flank.

The Sierra Ancha includes abundant archaeological remains, especially in the form of cliff dwellings in the rugged canyons opening eastward toward Cherry Creek.

The Sierra Ancha holds a disjunctive population of coastal woodfern, Dryopteris arguta,[1] which is typically found closer to the Pacific Ocean,[2] owing to the relatively humid climate of the upper elevations of the range.

The Sierra Ancha features significant exposures of the Apache Group, a complex consisting of Proterozoic conglomerate, shale, dolomitic limestone, and quartzite, with large-scale intrusions of diabase.

In lower Parker Canyon, on the range's south face, the Dripping Springs Quartzite forms precipices with a 200 m (700 ft) vertical drop.

Grantham Peak (6,591 ft) as seen from Arizona State Route 288 , the main road leading into the Sierra Ancha mountains from the south.
The summit of Aztec peak is the site of a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout once staffed by noted Arizona essayist and novelist Edward Abbey .
South fork of upper Parker Canyon in the Sierra Ancha, Arizona. Camera station on Arizona State Route 288, at approximately 1,500 m (5,000 ft). The prominent cliffs topping the canyon at left, at approximately 2,120 m (7,000 ft), have been formed from erosion-resistant quartzite.