Introduction

Hurricane Wash is the principle drainage for Hurricane Valley just west of and parallel to the Hurricane Cliffs in northern Mohave County, Ariz. Hurricane Wash begins near the abandoned village of Mt. Trumbull, Ariz. in upper Hurricane Valley and flows north into Utah and the Virgin River. The nearest settlements are St. George, Utah, 16 km northwest of the map area, Hurricane, Utah, 17.5 km north of the map area, and Colorado City, Ariz., 32 km east of the map area. Elevations range from about 841 m (2,759 ft) at Dutchman Wash at the northwest corner of the map to 1,842 m (6,043 ft) at Seegmiller Mountain at the west-central edge of map area. Access to the map is by improved dirt roads locally referred to as the Sunshine Trail, from St. George, Utah, and the Navajo Trail, from Colorado City, Ariz. Several unimproved dirt roads lead from the Sunshine and Navajo Trails to various locations within the map area.

The Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Strip Field Office, St. George, Utah, manages most of the area. In addition, there are about 8 sections managed by the State of Arizona and about 3 sections of private land in the vicinity of Clayhole Wash (U.S. Department of the Interior, 1993). Elevations below 1,372 m (4,500 ft) support a sparse growth of sagebrush, cactus, grass, greasewood brush, and various desert shrubs. At higher elevations, thick to moderate growths of sagebrush thrive in alluvial valleys and a moderate cover of pinyon pine and juniper trees are common on Seegmiller Mountain.