Sentinel Peak
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Sentinel Peak rises to 884 m in Arizona. Cathedral Rock stands 2,426 m to the northeast, 15 miles off. The nearest named place is The big "A", a attraction less than a tenth of a mile away. Sky Island Scenic Byway passes 16 miles off.
The story
Sentinel Peak is a 2,897 ft (900 m) peak in the Tucson Mountains southwest of downtown Tucson, Arizona, United States. 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 "the base [of the mountain] is black". In the 1910s, University of Arizona students used local basalt rock to construct a 160 ft (50 m) 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 (110 hectares) park, the largest natural resource park in the City of Tucson.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q7451333, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 884.2 m
How to reach it
- 15.8 mi off the Sky Island Scenic Byway, National
- 22.4 mi off the Patagonia-Sonoita Scenic Road
Overlooks nearby
- Babad Do'ag Viewpoint · 17 mi
- Thimble Mountain Vista · 18 mi
- Seven Cateracts Vista · 19 mi
- Molino Canyon Vista · 19 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Sentinel Peak Park: 0.1 mi
- Tumamoc Desert Laboratory: 0.9 mi
- West Branch Santa Cruz: 1.0 mi
- Mission & 36th: 1.1 mi
- Tumamoc Hill: 1.3 mi
- Verdugo Park: 0.5 mi
- Ormsby Park: 0.7 mi
- Felix Lucero Garden of Gethsemane: 0.9 mi
- El Paso and Southwestern Greenway: 0.9 mi
- El Parque de San Cosme: 1.0 mi
- Tumamoc Hill: 0.8 mi
- Tolson Peak: 2.1 mi
- Enchanted Peak: 2.2 mi
- Twin Hills: 3.4 mi
- Bactrian Summit: 3.5 mi
- Finger Rock Spring: 10.9 mi
- Rancho Fundoshi Spring: 13.2 mi
- Pima Spring: 13.3 mi
- Rock Ledge Spring: 13.8 mi
- Barrel Spring: 13.9 mi
- Tumamoc and the River of Life: 0.2 mi
- La Primera Vista: 0.3 mi
- Frida and Diego All Souls Mural: 0.6 mi
- Be Kind: 0.8 mi
- Mesquite Garden Archway: 0.9 mi
- Desert Survivors: 0.4 mi
- Mission Garden: 0.4 mi
- El Rio Community Garden: 0.8 mi
- Alene Dunlap Smith Garden: 1.4 mi
- Sonoran Landscape Laboratory: 2.8 mi
- The big "A": 0.0 mi
- La Pilita Mural: 1.1 mi
- Community Mural: 1.1 mi
- Barrio Histórico District: 1.2 mi
- Snob Hollow: 1.4 mi
- Tucson Museum of Art: 1.4 mi
- J. Knox Corbett House: 1.4 mi
- La Casa Cordova: 1.4 mi
- Presidio San Agustin Del Tucson: 1.5 mi
- Tucson Children's Museum: 1.5 mi
- Battle of the Bulge: 1.4 mi
- JFK Memorial Plaque: 1.4 mi
- January 8th Memorial: 1.4 mi
- N.E. Corner Adobe Wall of Spanish Presidio of Tucson: 1.5 mi
- Dr. Thomas Mixner Memorial: 2.8 mi
- Mam-a-Gah Picnic Area: 10.3 mi
- Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area: 10.3 mi
- Cactus Picnic Area: 12.7 mi
- Overlook Picnic Area: 12.7 mi
- Lower Bear Picnic Area: 13.4 mi
- Walter's Cascade: 13.8 mi
- Seven Falls: 15.3 mi
- Seven Catarcts: 18.8 mi
- Ernie's Falls: 19.8 mi
- Tanque Verde Falls: 19.9 mi
- Honey Bee Canyon: 16.9 mi
- Jailhouse Rock: 17.8 mi
- Mr Meanor Wall: 17.8 mi
- Alcatraz: 17.8 mi
- Sun Spot: 19.9 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 18.4 miles of Sentinel Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cathedral Rock | NE 36° | 2,425.64 m | 15.0 mi |
| Window Peak | NE 35° | 2,277 m | 14.0 mi |
| Mount Kimball | NNE 30° | 2,213.56 m | 13.3 mi |
| Little Kimball | NNE 32° | 2,171 m | 13.0 mi |
| Gorp Peak | NNE 32° | 2,037 m | 12.5 mi |
| Rattlesnake Peak | NE 45° | 2,030.51 m | 15.1 mi |
| Prominent Point | NNE 27° | 2,017.75 m | 12.1 mi |
| Finger Guard | NNE 28° | 1,972.4 m | 12.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:29 | 18:04 | 18:36 |
| June solstice | 05:19 | 18:58 | 19:34 |
| September equinox | 06:13 | 17:50 | 18:22 |
| December solstice | 07:22 | 16:47 | 17:24 |
Local time (America/Phoenix).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Oct–May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 54 | 57 | 63 | 69 | 78 | 87 | 88 | 87 | 83 | 73 | 62 | 53 |
| Precip in | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Tucson WFO, 3 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 11085 — Sentinel Peak, Pima County, Arizona.
OpenStreetMap element node/359251329
Day trips start here
- Tucson · 5 mi
- Saguaro National Park · 29 mi
Take the scenic way to Sentinel Peak.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.