Talk:Muggins Mountains

Dome Valley, east of Gila Mountains

The Muggins Mountains is on the north-east perimeter of the Dome Valley. The valley trends northwest–southeast paralleling the Gila Mountains on the west, the Muggins Mountains on the northeast. The valley turns from northwest-to-east-to eastwards with the Gila River Valley, and the Gila River Valley starts to trend east-by-northeast as it heads towards Gila Bend, Arizona many miles eastwards. (It is bowl, and low-point locked in by the mountains, and alluvial drainages, and forms inversion layers in mild or severe cold weather in winter.)

Yuma, Arizona west of the Gila Mountains (Yuma County) has an elevation of about 120 ft --120 feet (37 m). Dome Valley, about 14 miles NEast of Yuma, then again about 12 miles SEast is uphill, about 135-150 ft above sea level.

The Smoketree (Psorothamnus) species borders the lower elevation valleys at the foothills of all adjacent mountain ranges bordering the Lower Colorado River Valley. For Muggins Wash the entry point to the Muggins Mountains Wilderness, is a road about 1.3 mi–1.3 miles (2 km) east of the eastern edge of Dome Valley, the road also goes uphill about 300-500 ft in elevation. The Psorothamnus species is last seen at the beginning of the 1.3 miles and are only found on the perimeter of the Wilderness-(?), at the edge of the Dome Valley, at the exit points of all the washes and the canyons.

I entered the species under the Muggins Mountains Wilderness flora, only assuming that a Northwest-by-southeast traverse of the park's southwest perimeter-(at Dome Valley) may see the species-(in the park border, i.e. 0.5-1.0 miles distance from the common sighting points of the Psorothamnus spinosus). They are at least downhill, in elevation by the hundreds of feet, bordering Dome Valley, the 0.5 to 1.0 mile distance. Hikes up Muggins Wash are too high in altitude, and no Psorothamnus occur in Muggins's Wash, or up in the center of the Wilderness, about 2 miles up the trail. Muggins Wash splits northwest and north-northeast into a central valley region-(northwest and northeast of Muggins Peak). Klothos Temple is farther northwest, (and can only be seen from higher vantage points?). The photo could be taken from the south looking north from the outflow area of Morgan Wash-(on wilderness south perimeter). Or more probably taken from the southwest looking northeast from the foothills of the mountains, and adjacent to the wash containing the mountainous cliffs on the left.

The great thing about the Psorothamnus is that it has the wonderfull gray-green color-(easily seen in photos), and is a "thornbush", never with leaves, only a profusion of purple blossoms when flowering. (In early, middle, spring and mid summer of 2008, blooms occurred, the 3rd being only a minor bloom).---(From the HotSonoran DesertArizona...)Mmcannis (talk) 03:11, 2 November 2008 (UTC)