Kitt Peak

Kitt Peak (O'odham: Ioligam) is a mountain in the U.S. state of Arizona, and at 6,883 feet (2,098 m) is the highest point in the Quinlan Mountains. It lies in the Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Nation in Pima County, about 55 miles (89 km) west-southwest of Tucson. The mountain is the location of Kitt Peak National Observatory, which hosts one of the largest collections of optical telescopes in the world and is reached by State Route 386. A radio telescope at the observatory is one of ten dishes comprising the Very Long Baseline Array.

Kitt Peak
Telescopes on the top
Highest point
Elevation	6,886 ft (2,099 m) NAVD 88
Prominence	2,092 ft (638 m)
Coordinates	31°57′54″N 111°35′57″W
Geography
Kitt Peak
Location	Tohono O'odham Nation Pima County, Arizona, U.S.
Parent range	Quinlan Mountains
Topo map	USGS Kitt Peak
Climbing
Easiest route	Road

Geography

Kitt Peak is the highest summit of the Quinlan Mountains, an isolated fault-block range rising from the desert plain southwest of Tucson. Like the other ranges of southern Arizona, it forms part of the Madrean Sky Islands, where higher elevations support woodland vegetation distinct from the surrounding desert lowlands; the slopes are noted for their stands of manzanita.

The summit is reached by Arizona State Route 386, a 11.88-mile (19.12 km) paved highway that climbs from State Route 86 near the Tohono O'odham capital of Sells. The route was added to the state highway system and completed in 1967 to allow construction of the observatory's largest telescope, replacing an earlier unpaved road in use since 1958, and is closed to the public overnight to protect observing conditions.

Etymology and naming

The peak was named in English by county surveyor George J. Roskruge for his sister, Phillippa, who was the wife of William F. Kitt. On his 1893 Pima County Survey map, Roskruge spelled the name 'Kits'. At the request of the wife of George F. Kitt, the spelling was changed by decision in 1930.

The O'odham name Ioligam (also rendered I'oligam Du'ag) has been translated as "manzanita" or "red stick", in reference to the abundance of manzanita bushes on and around the mountain.

Cultural and religious significance

Kitt Peak is the second-highest peak on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, and as such is the second-most sacred after Baboquivari Peak. Near the summit is I'itoi's Garden, which the nation's lore holds to be the summer residence of its elder brother deity. The mountain has been inhabited and held sacred by the Tohono O'odham for centuries, and its telescope domes are a prominent feature on the horizon from much of the reservation. In recent years the observatory has expanded its engagement with the O'odham community, including dedicated outreach roles and efforts to present Indigenous sky knowledge alongside Western astronomical research.

Kitt Peak National Observatory

Main article: Kitt Peak National Observatory

When astronomers surveyed the United States for the site of its first national optical observatory in the 1950s, Kitt Peak's clear, dark skies and distance from city lights made it a leading candidate among more than 150 sites considered. After it was selected, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) negotiated with the Tohono O'odham (then known as the Papago Tribe), whose tribal council members were taken to view objects through a 36-inch (91 cm) telescope at the University of Arizona. In March 1958 the Schuk Toak District Council approved a resolution authorizing a lease of land on the peak to the NSF, and the observatory was formally established later that year. The observatory was dedicated on March 15, 1960. It was administered by AURA under the NSF, consolidated under the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in 1982, and has been operated by NOIRLab since 2019.

The mountain hosts more than twenty optical telescopes and two radio telescopes. The largest is the Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope, a 4-metre (13 ft) reflector completed in 1973 that was used to discover methane ice on Pluto in 1976 and now houses the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). Other instruments include the 3.5-metre (11 ft) WIYN telescope, which carries the NEID exoplanet spectrograph; the McMath–Pierce solar telescope, for many decades the largest solar telescope in the world; the University of Arizona's Spacewatch telescopes for detecting near-Earth objects; and the ARO 12m Radio Telescope.

2022 Contreras Fire

On June 11, 2022, a lightning strike ignited the Contreras Fire on a remote ridge of the Baboquivari Mountains to the south of Kitt Peak. Driven by high winds and dry fuels across rugged terrain, the fire reached the observatory in the early morning of June 17, prompting the evacuation of non-essential staff and the shutdown of the telescopes. Four non-scientific structures, including dormitories and other support buildings, were destroyed, but all of the telescope domes survived. Subsequent monsoon rains caused mudslides that damaged access roads, and recovery extended through the autumn; by late 2022 many of the telescopes and instruments had returned to service.