John the Baptist Mountains

Coordinates: 32°15′24″N 112°54′23″W / 32.2567264°N 112.9062668°W

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The John the Baptist Mountains are a small mountain range in western Pima County, Arizona, approximately 8.5 miles (13.7 km) southwest of the town of Ajo, Arizona. The range is approximately three miles (4.8 km) long and about one mile (1.6 km) wide at its widest point. The highpoint of the range is 2,161 feet above sea level and is located at 32°15'24"N, 112°54'24"W (NAD 1983 datum). The bulk of the range lies on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and a small portion extends westward into the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.

The range is named after John C. Butala, a hermit who lived for a number of years in a shack on the range's eastern side. Butala was born in 1880, and served in the Spanish–American War with the 15th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He chose to spend the last decades of his life as a hermit living in the desert. There was some belief locally that he had been shell shocked during his military service, but that is not confirmed. He was known as an eccentric with long matted hair, and most of the year he would wear only tennis shoes and a loincloth made from gunnysacks. He was also known for feeding and befriending a variety of desert wildlife around his camp, and some became so tame that they would eat out of his hand. It is likely that the nickname of "John the Baptist" derived from this behavior and his appearance as a wild-eyed desert prophet. Despite his eccentric ways, he was known for his mechanical and engineering abilities, and he would regularly be summoned into town to repair automobiles and heavy equipment at the New Cornelia Mine. Later in life he withdrew entirely from society, and died from malnutrition in 1961 at the age of 81. He is buried in Ajo.^[1]^[2]^[3]

References

^ Broyles, Bill., Luke Evans, Richard Stephen Felger, and Gary Nabhan. 2007. Our Grand Desert: A Gazetteer for Northwestern Sonora, Southwestern Arizona, and Northeastern Baja California. In Dry Borders: Great Natural Reserves of the Sonoran Desert, Broyles, B. and R. Felger, editors. University of Utah Press.
^ Peaden, Carroll H. 1978. John the Baptist: Early-day Longhair. Arizona Republic Magazine, November 26, pp. 20–25.
^ "PVT John C. Butala (1880-1961) - Find a Grave".

v t e Mountains of Arizona
Black Hills (Yavapai County)	Mingus Mountain
Black Mountains	Boundary Cone Fortification Hill Mount Wilson
Bradshaw Mountains	Mount Union
Castle Dome Mountains	Castle Dome
Cerbat Mountains	Mount Tipton
Chiricahua Mountains	Chiricahua Peak
Chuska Mountains	Roof Butte
Dragoon Mountains	Mount Glenn
Hieroglyphic Mountains	White Picacho
Huachuca Mountains	Carr Peak Miller Peak
Hualapai Mountains	Aubrey Peak Hualapai Peak
Little Ajo Mountains	Ajo Peak
Little Dragoon Mountains	Lime Peak Mae West Peaks
Mazatzal Mountains	Four Peaks Mount Ord
McDowell Mountains	East End McDowell Peak Mount McDowell Thompson Peak
Mule Mountains	Mount Ballard (Arizona)
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Pinal Mountains	Pinal Peak
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Santa Rita Mountains	Mount Hopkins Mount Wrightson
Santa Teresa Mountains	Mount Turnbull
Sierra Ancha	Mistake Peak
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Superstition Mountains	Silly Mountain Superstition Mountain Weavers Needle
Tank Mountains	Black Dome
Tucson Mountains	Sentinel Peak Tumamoc Hill
Whetstone Mountains	Apache Peak
White Mountains	Black Mesa (Navajo County) Escudilla Mountain Mount Baldy
Others	Agathla Peak Agua Caliente Mountains Agua Dulce Mountains Antelope Hill Aquarius Mountains Artillery Mountains Atascosa Mountains Aubrey Hills Baboquivari Peak Balakai Mesa Beaver Dam Mountains Belmont Mountains Bill Williams Mountain Bitsihuitsos Butte Black Hills (Greenlee County) Black Mesa (Apache-Navajo Counties) Black Mesa (Warm Springs) Black Mountain (Maricopa County) Black Mountain (Pima County) Blackjack Mountains Bryan Mountains Buckskin Mountain (Arizona-Utah) Buckskin Mountains (La Paz County) Bush Head Cabeza Prieta Mountains Canelo Hills Carrizo Mountains Cerro Colorado Mountains Chocolate Mountains Copper Mountains Coyote Mountains Date Creek Mountains Dome Rock Mountains Dos Cabezas Mountains Etoi Ki Excalibur Galiuro Mountains Gavilan Peak Gila Bend Mountains Gila Mountains (Graham County) Gila Mountains (Yuma County) Goldfield Mountains Grand Wash Cliffs Granite Mountains Granite Wash Mountains Growler Mountains Gu Achi Peak Guadalupe Mountains Harcuvar Mountains Harquahala Mountains House Mountain Hunts Mesa Isis Temple John the Baptist Mountains Juniper Mesa Kaibab Plateau Kofa Mountains Laguna Mountains Las Guijas Mountains Lime Mountain (Maricopa County} Little Harquahala Mountains Little Rincon Mountains Lukachukai Mountains Madrean Sky Islands Mescal Mountains Mineral Mountains Moccasin Mountains Mohave Mountains Mohawk Mountains Mount Trumbull Muggins Mountains Mustang Mountains Navajo Mountain The Needles New River Mountains New Water Mountains Newton Butte Painted Rock Mountains Pajarito Mountains Patagonia Mountains Peacock Mountains Picacho Peak Picketpost Mountain Pinnacle Peak Poachie Range Poston Butte Rawhide Mountains Sacaton Mountains San Luis Mountains Santa Maria Mountains Sevenmile Mountains Sierra San Antonio Sierra Estrella Sierra Madre Occidental Sierra Pinta Silver Bell Mountains Squaw Tits Sugarloaf Mountain Sunset Mountains Swisshelm Mountains Tempe Butte Temple Butte Tinajas Altas Mountains Tordillo Mountain Tortolita Mountains Trigo Mountains Tule Mountains Tumacacori Mountains Virgin Mountains Vulcan's Throne Vulture Mountains Waterman Mountains Weaver Mountains West Silver Bell Mountains White Tank Mountains Wickenburg Mountains

32°15′24″N 112°54′23″W / 32.2567264°N 112.9062668°W / 32.2567264; -112.9062668

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