Sentinel Peak (Arizona)

Sentinel Peak (aka "A" Mountain)

The "A" on Sentinel Peak
Highest point
Elevation 2,897 ft (883 m)
Coordinates 32°12′38.16″N 110°59′30.12″W / 32.2106000°N 110.9917000°W / 32.2106000; -110.9917000
Geography
Location Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Parent range Tucson Mountains

Sentinel Peak is a 2,897 ft (883 m) peak in the Tucson Mountains southwest of downtown Tucson, Arizona. The valley's first inhabitants grew crops at the mountain's base, along the Santa Cruz River. The name "Tucson" is derived from the O'odham Cuk Ṣon [tʃʊk ʂɔːn], meaning "[at the] base of the black [hill]". In the 1910s University of Arizona students used local basalt rock to construct a 160-ft-tall block "A" on the mountain's east face, near its summit, giving the peak its other name, "A" Mountain. The peak is part of a 272-acre park, the largest natural resource park in the City of Tucson.[1]

Early history

The fertile land at the base of Sentinel Peak was used for agriculture from circa 2000 BCE until the 1930s. Bedrock mortars found on the sides of the peak are believed to have been used to grind corn and mesquite beans into flour. In the 1690s the O'odham people living in the area were visited by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, who established the nearby Mission San Xavier del Bac. After Presidio San Augustin del Tucson was constructed in 1775, sentinels were stationed on the peak to watch for raiding Apaches.

Geology

Sentinel Peak is made up of layers of volcanic rock representing various types of volcanic activity, though the mountain itself is not a volcano. These layers once extended out west towards the Tucson Mountains and east into the Tucson Basin, where the city is now. Erosion and faulting are responsible for the mountain’s place in Tucson and its conical shape. It rests on a foundation of bedrock, and is dominated by 20 to 30 million year old volcanic rocks, made mostly of basaltic andesites, tuff, conglomerates, and scorias. Volcanic ash and breccia, along with ancient lava beds, or lahars, can be also be found on the mountain, further evidence of a once active volcanic field that formed the Tucson Mountain range.

The "A"

After Arizona football's 7–6 victory over Pomona in 1914, a civil engineering student on the team convinced one of his professors to make a class project of the survey and design for a huge block "A" on Sentinel Peak. Students carried the project to completion on March 4, 1916, when the 70 ft (21 m) wide, 160 ft (48 m) tall "A" was whitewashed on the east side of the peak. The basalt rock used in construction of the "A" was hauled from a quarry at the mountain's base which supplied stone for many foundations and walls throughout Tucson, including the wall surrounding the University of Arizona campus.[2]

The "A" has traditionally been painted white. On March 23, 2003, four days after the start of the Iraq War, it was painted black in protest. Two weeks later, following much public debate, the Tucson City Council resolved to have the "A" painted red, white, and blue in honor of American troops. A decade later the council decided to restore it to its traditional white.[3] The "A" has on occasion been painted green for St. Patrick's Day.[4]

Arizona State University has a more recently-created "A" Mountain (Tempe Butte) near the school's football stadium. During the week of the Arizona-ASU Territorial Cup game, rival fans and students have tried and at times succeeded in painting the "A" of the opposing school with their own school colors.

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Davis, Tony (August 5, 2013). "Sentinel Peak Park gets an upgrade". Arizona Daily Star.
  2. ↑ "UA History & Traditions—"A" Mountain". arizona.edu. The University of Arizona.
  3. ↑ Steller, Tim (April 14, 2013). "Big 'A' will revert to white, so let's color this battle over". Arizona Daily Star.
  4. ↑ "Two businesses step in, redo 'A' on Sentinel Peak". Arizona Daily Star. April 6, 2008.

See also

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