Mt. Lemmon is located in the Santa Catalina mountain range, to the north-northeast of Tucson. The elevation of Mount Lemmon is 9,157 feet.
Mount Lemmon was named by rancher Emerson Oliver Stratton for Sara Lemmon, an amateur botanist and the first white woman to reach the peak in 1881. Wynne L. Brown wrote a biography about Sara Lemmon called The Forgotten Botanist, opens a new window.
Mount Lemmon Highway was the begun in 1933 and completed in 1950. It was built mostly by labor from the Federal Prison Camp established for this purpose; reconstruction began in 1987. The Mount Lemmon Highway is also known as the Catalina Highway. Though it is called the Mount Lemmon or Catalina Highway, the official name is "General Hitchcock Highway."
Mount Lemmon Observatory is located close to the summit on a site maintained by the Steward Observatory. The telescope is an f/16 Cassegrain with a 1.5-m diameter primary mirror and a chopping secondary mirror for infrared observations.
Contacts on Mt. Lemmon
Mt. Lemmon Post Office
12984 N. Sabino Canyon Parkway
Mt. Lemmon, AZ 85619
Telephone: 520-576-1427
Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley
10300 E. Ski Run Road, Mt. Lemmon, AZ 85619
Always check current skiing conditions before making the trip.
Telephone: 520-576-1400.
Chuck Bowden Mount Lemmon Community Center, opens a new window
12949 North Sabino Canyon Parkway
Mount Lemmon, AZ 85619
Telephone: 520-724-5000
Sources:
Clippings in the Vertical File located at Joel D. Valdez Main Library.
Mount Lemmon | Visit Arizona
U.S. Postal Service web site
Find the information you need by calling the library's Infoline at 520-791-4010 or by sending your question to Ask a Librarian.
