The Kofa Mountains

The Kofas WORTH A CLOSER LOOK

The Kofa Mountains sprawl haphazardly across the desert northeast of Yuma, a confusion of stone canyons, volcanic spires, caves, boulders, sheer cliffs, cholla cactuses, and creosote bushes. The Kofas typify the ragged ranges usually only glimpsed from the distance by motorists along Interstates 8 and 10 west of Gila Bend and Phoenix. Such places, whether they appear enticing or forbidding, are worth a closer look. Palm Canyon, with its startling grove of fan palms squeezed into a rock cleft and easy accessibility, offers a good place to start, and winter is a good time to do it. That's when the lower Colorado River valley - the Sonoran Desert's hottest, driest section experiences its mildest temperatures and receives most of its rainfall. Still, the weather veers unpredictably between sun-drenched and rain-soaked. Early wildflowers may pop up, and bighorn sheep might scramble along craggy cliffs. No, not a gentle place but you just might like it. (PRECEDING PANEL, PAGES 26 AND 27) The Kofas' soaring lava palisades surprise as they rise abruptly from the desert floor northeast of Yuma. Surprise turns to wonder when deep in the heart of the mountains, in a dizzying canyon, the palms first appear. Clinging to an impossibly rocky perch, incongruously green, they seem to challenge the reality of their harsh desert home. Found in the Kofa and Hieroglyphic mountains in Arizona, these desert palms are the state's lone native species. (RIGHT) Set ablaze by the last rays of a fiery sunset, volcanic domes and cholla cactuses near the entrance to Kofa Queen Canyon glow in the twilight.

The Kofas

The Kofas

(LEFT) The Kofas jut from the desert floor near Four Palms Canyon. Cholla and saguaro cactuses, ocotillos and brittlebushes gather in the mountain basins to take advantage of run-off during the area's infrequent rainstorms. (ABOVE) Steep ridges along eroded faults in the northern wall of Palm Canyon reflect a winter sunset. (LEFT) Dawn breaks across the King Valley and the distant Castle Dome Mountains in this view from the mouth of Palm Canyon.

The Kofas