The disappearing mountains of Phoenix, Arizona


Part of the attraction of living in a valley like Phoenix is being surrounded by mountains, which are beautiful to look at. Well, they're not really mountains here in Phoenix, just big hills, but they're nice to be able to see. But these mountains have been disappearing for years, even in the brief time I've lived in the valley. I'll see if I can explain.

People who have lived here longer than I have can remember being able to see the mountains from just about anywhere. But people need places to live, work, and shop, and that requires buildings. And even low buildings, like a house, can make a mountain view disappear.

Camelback Mountain, the most famous landmark in Phoenix, is still visible. The best views are from the freeway (if you can stop texting while you're driving long enough to look up), and of course if you're really close to it, like right on Camelback Road, you can't miss it.

But the rest of the mountains have virtually disappeared. If you spend much time in downtown Phoenix you'd never even realize that it's surrounded by mountains (unless you flew in a helicopter). If you take the freeway south of South Mountain, the wall that was put up to protect the neighborhoods, which is fairly tall, and right next to the freeway, makes the view that I used to enjoy of the mountain simply a view of a wall.

I like living in suburbia, but I also like being able to see mountains, so I often make a point of sighting along a street where the view isn't obstructed. And the obstructions to the view aren't necessarily eyesores, they can be beautiful trees, or a nice neighborhood, or even a beautifully-designed building (I like buildings, and I like architecture).

There are a couple of practical solutions if you want to see the mountains - one being the most expensive, and most anti-social: build your house on a mountain, but my favorite one is just getting out of town. The Sonoran Desert is gigantic, and compared to it, Phoenix is tiny. I'm especially fond of riding along with one of my history adventuring friends and just exploring an Arizona highway. There's no lack of mountains there, and if you don't need a Starbucks every few blocks, I highly recommend it.

Image at the top of this post: Looking north towards Camelback Mountain in the 1970s, Phoenix, Arizona.

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