Fortification Hill

Fortification Hill rises to 1,114 m in Arizona. Mount Wilson stands 1,663 m to the southeast, 5.1 miles off. The nearest named place is Paint Pots, a peak 1.2 miles away. Bitter Springs Back Country Byway passes 18 miles off. 53 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
Fortification Hill is a prominence adjacent to Lake Mead in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area; it is located at the northwest terminus region of the Black Mountains (Arizona), and specifically the north region of the Black Mountains. It is near a southern section of Lake Mead, and just northeast of Hoover Dam. It can easily be seen eastward across Las Vegas Bay or from the two northern mountain terminuses of Eldorado Mountains (Nevada), or the Black Mountains (Arizona). The mountain prominence is plateau-like, or mesa-like with its highpoint at the southeast terminus, and sloping north and northwestwards toward Lake Mead. The prominence is 3,719 feet (1,134 m). The flat mountaintop, sloping northwards is composed of Tertiary basaltic lava flows.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q25247996, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 1114 m
How to reach it
- 17.9 mi off the Bitter Springs Back Country Byway
- 25.6 mi off the Valley of Fire State Park Roadways
- 27.0 mi off the City of Las Vegas, Las Vegas Boulevard State Scenic Byway, National
- 27.4 mi off the Las Vegas Strip, National
Overlooks nearby
- Atlatl Rock Petroglyphs · 27 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Boneyard of Hoover Dam: 4.0 mi
- Slot Canyons: 4.3 mi
- Liberty Bell Arch: 5.3 mi
- (unknown object): 9.9 mi
- Owl Canyon Trailhead: 10.2 mi
- Hemenway Valley Park: 9.0 mi
- Celebration Park: 9.6 mi
- Wilbur Square: 9.6 mi
- Bootleg Canyon Park: 10.9 mi
- Bootleg Canyon Park: 11.0 mi
- Paint Pots: 1.2 mi
- Promontory Point: 3.3 mi
- Sugarloaf Mountain: 4.0 mi
- Mount Wilson: 5.1 mi
- Boxcar Rock: 7.6 mi
- Hoover Dam: 3.7 mi
- Memorial to Hoover Dam Dead: 3.7 mi
- Hoover Dam Memorial: 3.7 mi
- Hoover Dam Mascot Memorial: 3.8 mi
- High Scaler Statue: 3.9 mi
- Nevada Hot Spring: 3.1 mi
- Wildhorse Spring: 5.2 mi
- Cottonwood Spring: 11.2 mi
- Sandstone Spring: 13.5 mi
- Gypsum Spring: 17.1 mi
- Burro Point: 3.2 mi
- Hemenway Wall: 3.9 mi
- Stewart Cliffs: 10.1 mi
- The Cliffs: 10.2 mi
- The Pillars: 10.7 mi
- Winged Figures of the Republic: 3.7 mi
- Winged Figures of the Republic: 3.7 mi
- It All Starts Here.: 16.2 mi
- Rock Lizards: 18.3 mi
- Smiley Face Rock Art: 18.7 mi
- Lost Man Hot Spring: 5.3 mi
- Two Mile Hot Spring: 5.6 mi
- Hot Springs: 5.7 mi
- Hot Spring: 6.3 mi
- Arizona Hot Springs: 6.3 mi
- Boulder City Community Garden: 9.9 mi
- Victory Garden: 15.0 mi
- Rock Garden: 20.9 mi
- Rock Garden: 21.6 mi
- Rock Art (Peace): 22.2 mi
- Rioville: 17.4 mi
- Apex: 24.0 mi
- El Dorado City: 24.6 mi
- Lucky Jim Camp: 24.6 mi
- Arrolime: 24.7 mi
- South Beach: 6.0 mi
- Boulder Beach: 6.2 mi
- Boulder Beach South: 6.3 mi
- Boulder City-Hoover Dam Museum: 9.8 mi
- Tom Devlin's Monster Museum: 10.7 mi
- Clark County Museum: 14.9 mi
- Redstone Picnic Area: 16.5 mi
- Foxtail Picnic Area (Pavilion F): 24.4 mi
- Clark County Wetlands Park: 17.7 mi
- Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve: 18.0 mi
- Nevada Welcome Center: 9.3 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Fortification Hill. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Wilson | SE 130° | 1,663 m | 5.1 mi |
| Muddy Peak | N 358° | 1,590 m | 17.6 mi |
| Senator Mountain | SE 125° | 1,562 m | 24.9 mi |
| Black Mountain | WSW 249° | 1,552.05 m | 21.7 mi |
| Peak 5058 | WSW 245° | 1,541.7 m | 22.5 mi |
| Peak 4928 | WSW 247° | 1,502.06 m | 22.1 mi |
| Arden Peak | WSW 252° | 1,322.23 m | 21.4 mi |
| Peak 4163 | WSW 253° | 1,268.89 m | 20.6 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:43 | 18:17 | 18:51 |
| June solstice | 05:23 | 19:22 | 20:00 |
| September equinox | 06:27 | 18:03 | 18:37 |
| December solstice | 07:46 | 16:49 | 17:29 |
Local time (America/Phoenix).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jan–May, Oct–Nov.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 50 | 55 | 62 | 70 | 79 | 90 | 96 | 93 | 85 | 72 | 59 | 50 |
| Precip in | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Alan Bible Visitor CTR, 7 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/359245741
Day trips start here
- Las Vegas · 27 mi
- Las Vegas/The Strip · 28 mi
Take the scenic way to Fortification Hill.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.




