Arizona desert vs. California desert (Strictly rural and geographic scenery, no urban talk) (Yuma: area, around)

[Prickly Pear]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

She is correct not to believe it. It's ironic that you live in Washington in that Mt. Ranier's prominence is more than twice of that of Mt. Graham.

Thank you. I was about to say this as well. Mount Graham is a tall mountain but there's plenty of other tall mountains in the Lower 48 which would make more sense.

Here is a photo of the snow-capped Mount Graham. It's similar to Mount Lemmon in the sense there is barely any peak prominence (which peak is Mount Graham again?) and is wide, flatter mountain up top.

http://www.bigfootbuzz.net/wp-conten...m-arizona5.jpg

To not repeat Mount Rainier which would work just as well, here's a photo of Mount Hood:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ake_ca1985.jpg

Which one do you think would make more logical sense? Especially considering that Mount Graham does not reach nearly as much snow on its top than Mount Hood...

I don't need to visit Mount Graham to see that directly. Google is a powerful thing...

[teddyearp]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

She is correct not to believe it. It's ironic that you live in Washington in that Mt. Ranier's prominence is more than twice of that of Mt. Graham.

You are right and I am wrong. Mt. Rainier's prominence is much more. My whole house is pointed towards an awesome view of Mt. Rainier. Check it: Randle WebCam & Weather Page (Where the heck is Randle?). It is spelled Rainier, not Ranier, lol.

I guess I just did a shallow, without thought post where I pointed out that the poster didn't believe it, yet had never visited Mt Graham. Have you ever visited Safford and Mt. Graham? I have and though you are right about my mistake, it is still pretty impressive in its own right.

[teddyearp]

Originally Posted by :-D

<snip>Especially considering that Mount Graham does not reach nearly as much snow on its top than Mount Hood...

I don't need to visit Mount Graham to see that directly. Google is a powerful thing...

Yes, google is. But we are straying quite a bit off topic now and I am just as guilty by following you along as well, since this thread is about deserts.

Mt. Graham is much nearer to any desert than Mt. Rainier or Mt. Hood. And with that said, why oh why does any amount of snow cap come into play here?

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by teddyearp

You are right and I am wrong. Mt. Rainier's prominence is much more. My whole house is pointed towards an awesome view of Mt. Rainier. Check it: Randle WebCam & Weather Page (Where the heck is Randle?). It is spelled Rainier, not Ranier, lol.

I guess I just did a shallow, without thought post where I pointed out that the poster didn't believe it, yet had never visited Mt Graham. Have you ever visited Safford and Mt. Graham? I have and though you are right about my mistake, it is still pretty impressive in its own right.

Sorry for the head slap but :-D is one of my favorite posters and I have to defend her honor.

Yes, I lived in Willcox, AZ as did Elktronics (another fave) who made the comment about Mt. Graham. However, I bet he heard that from some other Arizonan and passed it on.

It's like that strange urban legend about Arizona having the most boats per capita. When I lived in Arizona I heard that all the time and it isn't even remotely close to being true.

As for Rainier (got it spelled right this time), to me that thing is the most incredible physical entity in the lower 48. Give it a gaze for me on a clear day.

[Prickly Pear]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

Sorry for the head slap but :-D is one of my favorite posters and I have to defend her honor.

OMG! I feel so flattered! Thank you!

[elkotronics]

Yes, it was a doctor from Willcox that mentioned that apparent untruth regarding the rise from the desert floor to the top of Mt.Graham. Although the website listed about this weird place in California just pretty much told the same story - a rise of 8,000 feet. So tie goes to the runner, right? Who's the weiner?

[ScaryTucson]

Originally Posted by teddyearp

Mt. Graham is much nearer to any desert than Mt. Rainier or Mt. Hood. And with that said, why oh why does any amount of snow cap come into play here?

Actually, Mt Rainier is so large that it creates its own desert. The east side of Rainier turns to a desert quite quickly. When you drive across Rainier, as you get to the east side within just a few miles you go from pine trees to sand dunes (it's quite bizarre). Yakima, Washington, for instance; only gets 8 inches of rain per year, the same as Phoenix. It is just east of Rainier, and it is BECAUSE of Rainier that it gets so little rain. One of the amazing things when you are on Mt Rainier is you can be standing in a rain forest looking into the desert just a few miles away.

Mt Rainier would be the most elevation change as far as hiking goes (then Mt Shasta and Mt Whitney), but there are a couple other mountains that are not too far behind. Overall, Mt Rainier is the most prominent in the continental 48. For Colorado, it's Mt Elbert but really any accessible point you would start much higher on this mtn, so the hike wouldn't be near as much elevation change as the other 3 mentioned.

I just got back from Mt Graham area, not bad scenery, but I think the scenery around Sierra Vista is better, even some areas around Rio Rico (just west of there) and North of Nogales as well.

As far as deserts go, I agree with the others, Arizona desert much more alive feeling than much of California, but the California desert is also a vast area and I have hardly driven across but maybe 10% of it, the parts I have seen which were west of Death Valley were not the prettiest, and were no comparison to the beautiful deserts in Arizona. That said, I'm sure some of the desert areas in California are nice.

Just did the drive from Tucson to Vegas a couple weeks ago, fabulous scenery most of the way (especially as you get NW of Phoenix towards Wickenburg). Keep in mind though a lot of this area isn't actually officially a desert once you get NW of Phoenix, until you hit Kingman again. Wickenburg gets around 13 inches per year, but just east of there and NW of there it goes back up to over 20 inches, that is one reason it is so beautiful on that drive, the hills actually get a decent amount of rain.

Having been pretty much everywhere, cannot think of any desert areas that really compete with the scenery of Arizona, some parts of New Mexico but not really so much the desert areas more so in NM is the higher elevation areas like Los Alamos or Taos. I would say the deserts in Oregon, WA state, or Idaho are also nice, but not as green as Arizona.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

No one has mentioned the Anza-Borrego Desert, in the extreme eastern part of San Diego County. It's part of California's Colorado Desert, which is Sonoran desert, quite different, and IMO, much more aesthetically pleasing than the Mojave Desert. And, much of it is a California State Park, so thankfully, it will not be developed.

[Bert_from_back_East]

The California "Desert Cities" of Palm Springs, et al. are more aesthetically pleasing than just about any of the low desert areas of Arizona.

Those cities are older and more established than most areas of Arizona, and watering restrictions in California are less strict, so the Desert Cities tend to have greener, more landscaped yards, roadways, public spaces, etc.

For a self-proclaimed New Yorker, Palm Springs and the surrounding would be a decidedly better choice due to more a well-heeled, better-cultured general populace and a surprisingly high concentration of cultural amenities and events, especially relative to your average Arizona locale.

[magnum0417]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

The California "Desert Cities" of Palm Springs, et al. are more aesthetically pleasing than just about any of the low desert areas of Arizona.

Those cities are older and more established than most areas of Arizona, and watering restrictions in California are less strict, so the Desert Cities tend to have greener, more landscaped yards, roadways, public spaces, etc.

For a self-proclaimed New Yorker, Palm Springs and the surrounding would be a decidedly better choice due to more a well-heeled, better-cultured general populace and a surprisingly high concentration of cultural amenities and events, especially relative to your average Arizona locale.

As a native NYer while I enjoy and appreciate the uniqueness of the Coachella Valley I actually prefer Banning and Beaumont which truly is where ocean air meets desert air at 2500 ft altitude. I 10 is just GOD AWFUL from Phoenix to Chiriaco Summit but once you start rolling down to Indio and see San Jacinto Peak you realize you are getting near where true California begins.