{{Short description|Group of volcanic mountains and cinder cones in Sonora, Mexico}} {{Other uses|Pinacate (disambiguation)}} <!--{{verify|date=July 2009}}--> {{Infobox mountain | name = Pinacate Peaks | other_name = {{lang|ood|Cuk Doʼag}}<br/>{{lang|es|Sierra del Pinacate}} | etymology = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_caption = <!-- map --> | map = Mexico Sonora#Mexico | map_image = | map_size = | map_caption = Location of Sierra Pinacate in [[Sonora]] | location = (north-central)-[[Sonoran Desert]]<br/>[[El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar]], Sonora, Mexico | label = | label_position = | elevation = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = | elevation_ref = | prominence = | prominence_m = | prominence_ft = | prominence_ref = | isolation = | isolation_km = | isolation_mi = | isolation_ref = | parent_peak = | listing = | translation = | language = | pronunciation = | range = | coordinates = {{coord|31.77|N|113.49|W|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = | topo = | type = | age = | geology = | easiest_route = | normal_route = | access = | child = | embedded = }}

[[Image:20091211 - Puerto Penasco -63.jpg|thumb|right|alt=View to the Pinacate craters from the sand dunes|Pinacate sand dunes and craters]] [[Image:Pinacate volcanic field.jpg|thumb|right|Crater Elegante with the Pinacate Peaks in the background]] [[File:Tecolote Camp Pinacate Cholla.jpg|thumb|Pinacate volcanics with [[teddy-bear cholla]]s, [[ocotillo]]s, young [[saguaro]]s, and a [[paloverde]] tree]] [[File:Elephanttreecerrocolorado.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bursera microphylla]], Elephant Tree, photographed at Cerro Colorado in Baja California, Mexico.]]

The '''Pinacate Peaks''' ('''Sierra Pinacate''') are a [[volcanic group|group]] of volcanic peaks and [[cinder cone]]s located mostly in the Mexican state of [[Sonora]] along the international border adjacent to the U.S. state of [[Arizona]], surrounded by the vast sand dune field of the [[Gran Desierto de Altar]], at the desert's southeast.<ref>U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. [https://web.archive.org/web/20040625020506/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16569 NASA Information and Satellite Image: Pinacate Mountains]</ref>

The Spanish name for the ''Pinacate Peaks'' geographic feature is the Sierra Pinacate, which is used in their homeland of Mexico.

==Location== The Pinacate Peaks lie just north of the fishing resort of [[Puerto Peñasco]]. The tallest of the peaks is Cerro del Pinacate (also called Volcan Santa Clara), with an elevation of 3,904 feet (1,190 m). The [[Mexican Spanish]] word ''pinacate'' is derived from the [[Nahuatl]] word for the endemic desert [[pinacate beetle|stink beetle]], ''pinacatl''.

==Natural history==

=== Geology === The volcanoes here have erupted sporadically since about 4&nbsp;million years ago, probably in association with the opening of the [[Gulf of California]]. The most recent volcanic activity was about 11,000 years ago. The Pinacate Desert is home to the largest sand [[dune]]s in the [[Americas]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/desertecology/pinacate.htm|title=Biological Sciences|access-date=2010-04-14|archive-date=2012-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304041000/http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/desertecology/pinacate.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Flora and fauna === A variety of flora and fauna occur in the Pinacate Mountains, including the sculptural [[Bursera microphylla|elephant tree]] (''[[Bursera microphylla]]'') and the endangered Sonoran pronghorn (''[[Antilocapra americana sonoriensis]]'').<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2009. [http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=90792 ''Elephant Tree: Bursera microphylla'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307155812/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=90792 |date=2012-03-07 }}</ref>

==Human history== [[Eusebio Kino|Padre Eusebio Kino]], the founder of many [[Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert]], explored here in 1698 and several times later.

[[NASA]] sent astronauts here starting in 1965 for geologic training, given the similarity of the terrain to the lunar surface, and included training models of lunar surface equipment. [[Apollo 14]]'s [[Alan Shepard]] and [[Edgar Mitchell|Ed Mitchell]], and [[Apollo 17]]'s [[Jack Schmitt]] trained here in Feb. 1970.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Phinney |first1=William |title=Science Training History of the Apollo Astronauts |date=2015 |publisher=NASA SP -2015-626 |page=236}}</ref>

==El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve == {{Main|El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar}} The El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar [[Biosphere Reserve]] is a [[biosphere reserve]], in the [[Spanish language]] Reserva de la Biosfera el Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar, managed by the [[Mexican Federal Government]]'s [[SEMARNAT]] – the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, in collaboration with the government of the [[Sonora|State of Sonora]]'s IMADES agency.<ref name="cedo">{{cite web |url=http://www.cedointercultural.org/pinacate.htm |title=Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve |access-date=2010-10-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721144046/http://www.cedointercultural.org/pinacate.htm |archive-date=2011-07-21 }} . accessed 7/22/2010</ref>

=== The reserve === Facts about the reserve:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.desertinvasion.us/areas/pinacate_res.html|title = Pinacate Biosphere Reserve, Mexico - Desert Invasion - U.S.}}</ref> * Over {{convert|600|sqmi|km2}} * Over 400 [[cinder cone]]s (caused by volcanic activity) * 9 massive [[volcanic crater]]s * Remains of volcanic activity ([[volcanic ash|ash]], [[basalt]] rock, [[lava field]]s) * Over 560 [[plant species]] * 56 [[mammal]] species * 43 [[reptile]] species * 222 [[bird]] species * 4 [[fish]] species.

==See also== *[[List of volcanoes in Mexico]] *[[El Elegante Crater]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110721144046/http://www.cedointercultural.org/pinacate.htm Official Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve website] *[http://www.azcentral.com/travel/seasonal/rockypoint/articles/rp-pinacate-CR.html Sierra Pinacate a Volcanic Wonder] *[https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=341001 Global Volcanism Program: Pinacate] *[http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/155033/Cerro-Pinacate.html Cerro Pinacate, at summitpost]

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[[Category:Gran Desierto de Altar|*02]] [[Category:Cinder cones]] [[Category:Natural history of Sonora]] [[Category:Mountain ranges of Sonora]] [[Category:Mountain ranges of the Sonoran Desert]] [[Category:Sonoran Desert|Gran Desierto de Altar]] [[Category:Volcanoes of Sonora]] [[Category:Volcanism of Mexico]] [[Category:Volcanic groups]] [[Category:Geology of Mexico]] [[Category:Landforms of Sonora]] [[Category:Lava fields]]