White Tanks

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I was excited to hear that the mountains near my house not only have petroglyphs but are haunted as well.  The White Tank mountain range is located west of Phoenix near the city of Surprise.  They get their name for the white granite near the base of the mountains and its many depressions also known as “tanks”.   It is believed that the range was formed about 30 million years ago by earthquake activities and detaching from a fault line.  Although the peaks of each range are approximately the same altitude, the tallest is Barry Goldwater Peak at 4,083 feet.  The rocky terrain is beautiful but dangerous.  The mountain range consists of jagged ridges, and bottomless canyons where after a rainfall water will build up and run swiftly down the sheer canyons.

 In the mountains you will find the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, an area where many like to visit and hike.   Many of the areas in this park are undeveloped wilderness with many indigenous species roaming around the desert grounds.  Some of the critters you might see while visiting the park are mule deer, coyotes, javelina, small rodents, and on rare occasions, mountain lions.  Some of the birds found in the park are roadrunners and cactus wren, which is the Arizona state bird.  Since the park is in the desert, many reptiles can be found wandering the area as well.   You can take a guided tour and learn all about the animals and plants found in this natural desert preserve.

One of the main reasons I want to visit the mountain range is the numerous petroglyphs found scattered around the mountains and may predate the Hohokam people.  Approximately 11 archaeological sites were recognized along with 7 Hohokam villages.  There are various trails leading to these sites and villages dispersed and marked for your interests.  You can take as many pictures of the sites and petroglyphs, but all they ask is that you don’t touch them.

The mountains also have stories of paranormal activity.  There have been several UFO sightings over the mountain range, but since the White Tanks are located near Luke Air Force Base, many have been dismissed as being something military.  Some people believe that what they saw was not manmade, but something unexplainable.   Along with the UFO sightings, people have reported ghostly figures and other strange phenomena while hiking the mountains.

Comments

  1. Lois EvensenMarch 27, 2011 at 6:23 AM

    We would love to come and explore the mountains and parks out there someday. It is on the bucket list!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 27, 2011 at 8:01 AM

    Things that make you go hmmmmm? I guess someone needs to collect those paranormal stories.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Courtney MrochMarch 27, 2011 at 8:02 AM

    I knew about the UFOs there, but not about the haunted part. Neat! (And great pics of it, btw. You do AZ justice through your photos.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sharon DayMarch 27, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    You have to have me over to your part of town, sis. We can hike the White Tanks and have a blast. They actually have a park ranger there who is collecting all the petroglyphs for documentation and you can see the same symbols that the HoHoKam put on South Mountain are there too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Julie FergusonMarch 27, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    Lois; there is lots of cool places like this to explore around this state.

    Barry; I would love to know more about the paranormal stories. There wasn't many to find like the UFO stories.

    Courtney; I am hoping that being so close to these mountains that I get to witness a UFO of some kind. That would be cool. I just need to find out more about the ghostly stories.

    Sis; we should make our next daytrip to the White Tanks before it gets so blazin' hot!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2012 at 2:15 AM

    THE WHITE TANK MOUNTAINS R RIGHT N MY FRONT YARD..5 MIN WALK AND I'M THER...VERY EERIE AND MYSTERIOUS FEELINGS @ ALL TIMES...I C SIGHTINGS ALMOST EVERYDAY OF UNEXPLANABLE LIGHTS AND EVENTS....VERY STRANGE BUT #TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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