# Pinacate Peaks

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Group of volcanic mountains and cinder cones in Sonora, Mexico

For other uses, see [Pinacate (disambiguation)](/source/Pinacate_(disambiguation)).

Pinacate Peaks Cuk Doʼag Sierra del Pinacate Pinacate Peaks Location of Sierra Pinacate in Sonora Show map of Sonora Pinacate Peaks Pinacate Peaks (Mexico) Show map of Mexico Highest point Coordinates 31°46′N 113°29′W / 31.77°N 113.49°W / 31.77; -113.49 Geography Location (north-central)-Sonoran Desert El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar, Sonora, Mexico

Pinacate sand dunes and craters

Crater Elegante with the Pinacate Peaks in the background

Pinacate volcanics with [teddy-bear chollas](/source/Teddy-bear_cholla), [ocotillos](/source/Ocotillo), young [saguaros](/source/Saguaro), and a [paloverde](/source/Paloverde) tree

[Bursera microphylla](/source/Bursera_microphylla), Elephant Tree, photographed at Cerro Colorado in Baja California, Mexico.

The **Pinacate Peaks** (**Sierra Pinacate**) are a [group](/source/Volcanic_group) of volcanic peaks and [cinder cones](/source/Cinder_cone) located mostly in the Mexican state of [Sonora](/source/Sonora) along the international border adjacent to the U.S. state of [Arizona](/source/Arizona), surrounded by the vast sand dune field of the [Gran Desierto de Altar](/source/Gran_Desierto_de_Altar), at the desert's southeast.[1]

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](/source/Puerto_Pe%C3%B1asco). 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](/source/Mexican_Spanish) word *pinacate* is derived from the [Nahuatl](/source/Nahuatl) word for the endemic desert [stink beetle](/source/Pinacate_beetle), *pinacatl*.

## Natural history

### Geology

The volcanoes here have erupted sporadically since about 4 million years ago, probably in association with the opening of the [Gulf of California](/source/Gulf_of_California). The most recent volcanic activity was about 11,000 years ago. The Pinacate Desert is home to the largest sand [dunes](/source/Dune) in the [Americas](/source/Americas).[2]

### Flora and fauna

A variety of flora and fauna occur in the Pinacate Mountains, including the sculptural [elephant tree](/source/Bursera_microphylla) (*[Bursera microphylla](/source/Bursera_microphylla)*) and the endangered Sonoran pronghorn (*[Antilocapra americana sonoriensis](/source/Antilocapra_americana_sonoriensis)*).[3]

## Human history

[Padre Eusebio Kino](/source/Eusebio_Kino), the founder of many [Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert](/source/Spanish_missions_in_the_Sonoran_Desert), explored here in 1698 and several times later.

[NASA](/source/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](/source/Apollo_14)'s [Alan Shepard](/source/Alan_Shepard) and [Ed Mitchell](/source/Edgar_Mitchell), and [Apollo 17](/source/Apollo_17)'s [Jack Schmitt](/source/Jack_Schmitt) trained here in Feb. 1970.[4]

## El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve

Main article: [El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar](/source/El_Pinacate_y_Gran_Desierto_de_Altar)

The El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar [Biosphere Reserve](/source/Biosphere_Reserve) is a [biosphere reserve](/source/Biosphere_reserve), in the [Spanish language](/source/Spanish_language) Reserva de la Biosfera el Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar, managed by the [Mexican Federal Government](/source/Mexican_Federal_Government)'s [SEMARNAT](/source/SEMARNAT) – the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, in collaboration with the government of the [State of Sonora](/source/Sonora)'s IMADES agency.[5]

### The reserve

Facts about the reserve:[6]

- Over 600 square miles (1,600 km2)

- Over 400 [cinder cones](/source/Cinder_cone) (caused by volcanic activity)

- 9 massive [volcanic craters](/source/Volcanic_crater)

- Remains of volcanic activity ([ash](/source/Volcanic_ash), [basalt](/source/Basalt) rock, [lava fields](/source/Lava_field))

- Over 560 [plant species](/source/Plant_species)

- 56 [mammal](/source/Mammal) species

- 43 [reptile](/source/Reptile) species

- 222 [bird](/source/Bird) species

- 4 [fish](/source/Fish) species.

## See also

- [List of volcanoes in Mexico](/source/List_of_volcanoes_in_Mexico)

- [El Elegante Crater](/source/El_Elegante_Crater)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. [NASA Information and Satellite Image: Pinacate Mountains](https://web.archive.org/web/20040625020506/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16569)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Biological Sciences"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120304041000/http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/desertecology/pinacate.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/desertecology/pinacate.htm) on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2010-04-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** C. Michael Hogan. 2009. [*Elephant Tree: Bursera microphylla*, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg](http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=90792) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120307155812/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=90792) 2012-03-07 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Phinney, William (2015). *Science Training History of the Apollo Astronauts*. NASA SP -2015-626. p. 236.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-cedo_5-0)** ["Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110721144046/http://www.cedointercultural.org/pinacate.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.cedointercultural.org/pinacate.htm) on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-10-01. . accessed 7/22/2010

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Pinacate Biosphere Reserve, Mexico - Desert Invasion - U.S."](http://www.desertinvasion.us/areas/pinacate_res.html)

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:El_Pinacate_y_Gran_Desierto_de_Altar).

- [Official Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve website](https://web.archive.org/web/20110721144046/http://www.cedointercultural.org/pinacate.htm)

- [Sierra Pinacate a Volcanic Wonder](http://www.azcentral.com/travel/seasonal/rockypoint/articles/rp-pinacate-CR.html)

- [Global Volcanism Program: Pinacate](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=341001)

- [Cerro Pinacate, at summitpost](http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/155033/Cerro-Pinacate.html)

Authority control databases International VIAF Geographic Global Volcanism Program

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pinacate Peaks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinacate_Peaks) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinacate_Peaks?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.