Camelback Mountain, one of the most recognizable Phoenix landmarks, as seen from Papago Park. Sanctuary on Camelback, the Royal Palms Hotel, and the Phoenician are all located on the slopes of this peak.

   Camelback Mountain, the premier Phoenix landmark, looking north-northwest from the Papago Buttes. From this viewpoint, it is hard to tell that you are in the midst of about 3.4 million people!
   Tilted layers of red rocks (Camel's Head Formation, forming the "head" of the reclining "Camel") can be seen on the left (west) end, lying on a much larger and higher mass (the "Camel's" hump) of .
   Summit elevation is 2704 ft (824 m) -- the peak rises about 1600 ft (488 m) above the elevation of downtown Phoenix.
   Camelback Mountain is one of the most prominent peaks in the , and hosts a number of the valley's most famous resorts around its base, including Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, the Camelback Inn, the Royal Palms, and The Phoenician.

If you want more information about
Camelback Mountain,
read these three FREE short GeoStories™:

Landmark
(you can include your own comments on this one
-- on our GEMLAND.NET BLOG.)

Camelback Mountain, from Papago Park, in Phoenix, looking north.

Camelback Mountain is a symbol for Phoenix and Scottsdale. It illustrates our Valley's "look" in more ways than one.

And it has been important to the residents of our area for more than a thousand years!
Discover more about it here.

Camelback Mountain, from Squaw Peak, in Phoenix, looking north.

Missing Time

The line separating two rock formations on Camelback Mountain, in this picture, is about one and a half billion years wide -- or about the thickness of nothing.

No mystery left in geology? Read this. Maybe another plot for a disaster movie? Help us all and come up with your own idea.

Rock and Roll Geology

   Next View >>

   See the GeoHistory page if you want to know more about why the landscape looks the way it does, or return to the map of "The Rocks of the Valley of the Sun" for more view locations.
   You can also send this as an E-Postcard to your friends!

   [060410]

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There are six other scenic views in this sequence:
- the unconformity between the two rock formations
- the "Praying Monk"
- the Grotto, an ancient Hohokam sacred site
- the McDowell Mountains, from the summit
- looking west from the summit
- Mummy Mountain and north from the summit.

There are over 100 different scenic views around Phoenix, accessible from the map.

You can also see Camelback Mountain from the top of Squaw Peak, several miles or kilometers to the west, and you can see it in the distance from the summit of Black Mountain, in Carefree / Cave Creek.