Silver Bell Mountains
# Silver Bell Mountains

The Silver Bell Mountains are a northwest–southeast trending mountain range in north–central Pima County, Arizona. The range lies 14 miles (23 km) west of Marana, Arizona, located on Interstate-10, northwest of Tucson.

The range is located to the east of the Ironwood Forest National Monument. Ragged Top, located in the north of the range, is a well-known landmark in this former mining region.

## Description

The range is named after the Silver Bell Mine located at the southern end of the mountains. The range abuts the Waterman Mountains to the southeast, where palynology-(pollen) studies have shown some of the recent floristic history of Arizona during the Pliocene. Both ranges lie in the northeast Sonoran Desert; the Madrean Sky Island ranges begin just southeast of here, with the large, and most western sky island range, the Baboquivari Mountains-Quinlans 20–35 mi south.

The Silver Bell range can be accessed by Avra Valley Road and Silver Bell Road from the south of Marana.

## Climate

Climate is characterized by extremely variable temperature conditions. The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Bsh" (Mid-Latitude Steppe and Desert Climate).

Climate data for Silver Bell Mountains :

| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Average high °F (°C) | 63 (17) | 66 (19) | 71 (22) | 79 (26) | 88 (31) | 98 (37) | 98 (37) | 96 (36) | 93 (34) | 84 (29) | 72 (22) | 62 (17) | 81 (27) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 43 (6) | 46 (8) | 49 (9) | 55 (13) | 63 (17) | 72 (22) | 74 (23) | 72 (22) | 70 (21) | 61 (16) | 51 (11) | 43 (6) | 58 (14) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.9 (23) | 0.9 (23) | 0.8 (20) | 0.2 (5.1) | 0.2 (5.1) | 0.3 (7.6) | 2.5 (64) | 2.5 (64) | 1.3 (33) | 1 (25) | 0.8 (20) | 1.3 (33) | 12.8 (330) |
| Source: Weatherbase ||||||||||||||
