Highest Point
North Mountain elevation is 2,104 feet. Shaw Butte tops out at 2,149 feet.

History
Around the turn of the century, the North Mountain area served as a campground for the Phoenix Indian School’s pupils and their families. There are a number of closed mining shafts and pits, evidence of the history of copper mining in Arizona.

Geology, flora and fauna
It is important to remember that the Phoenix mountain preserves are open, undeveloped desert areas. Please use care when heading out as hikers routinely encounter rocky terrain, rattlesnakes and other potential hazards native to the Sonoran Desert. If you encounter a rattlesnake, allow it space and time to escape.

The major plant species found in the park are typical of those found in the lower Sonoran Desert and include bursage, brittlebush, creosote bush, palo verde trees and saguaro cactus. Overall, more than 300 species of plant life are found in the area. The varieties of cacti include: saguaro, barrel, hedgehog, pincushion, jumping cholla, christmas cactus, staghorn, cholla and prickly pear. Palo verde, mesquite, elephant and ironwood trees, along with the ocotillo plant, are also numerous in the park.

The fauna found in North Mountain is typical of the lower Sonoran Desert ecosystem. The desert arthropods - sun spiders, scorpions, centipedes, beetles and ants are common, but mostly nocturnal, spending the day underground due to high daytime temperatures. Reptilian inhabitants include desert tortoises and several species of snakes, including rattlesnakes, and lizards - Gila monsters, horned lizards, geckos and chuckwallas. The mammal population, which is restricted by food supply, habitat and the presence of man, includes the California jackrabbit, cottontail rabbit, ground squirrel, mice, ringtail, coyote, javelina, gophers and kit fox. Bird populations vary according to season and moisture but include Gambel’s Quail, great horned owls, roadrunners, mourning doves, and red-tailed and Harris’s hawks.