Located in eastern Maricopa County within a portion of the Mazatzal Mountain range, is the Sunflower Mine trail. This is a perfect off road trail for those who enjoy exploring historic remains of Arizona’s mining industry. The trail contains excellent views of the Mazatzal Mountain Range and traverses through some technical 4x4 terrain.
The Sunflower Mine Trail should take around 6 hours giving plenty of time to stop and explore the interesting mining ruins. The trail is hot but bearable in the summer time and can be extremely cold in the winter. Portions of the trail follows a wash so flash floods are possible. Route finding is relatively simple, but there are some areas where route finding can be confusing. As always, I would recommend carrying an Off Road Trail Guide and Off Road GPS.
The greatest feature of the Sunflower Mine trail is the old mercury processing facility. This facility was created to process cinnabar into mercury. Cinnabar is generally found in a granular or earthy form and is bright scarlet to brick-red in color. This entire portion of the Mazatzal Mountain is rich in Cinnabar.
More specifically, the Sunflower Mine processing facility would begin the production process by breaking down larger pieces of the raw Cinnabar into a small power-like consistency. This was accomplished by using a large circular tumbler.
Once broken down, the refined Cinnabar was then heated to extract the mercury as a vapor. The vapor was then forced through coils that were cooled by water sprinklers. Cooling the vapor would convert the “now pure” mercury into a liquid for final collection.
Cinnabar was discovered in the area in 1911 by a prospector named E.H. Bowman. In turn he sold his claim the Sunflower Mining Company which built the processing facility you see today. This facility is well preserved and one of the best features of the trail.
The trail ventures from lower Sonoran desert to over 5500 feet forested terrain. Parts of the trail are maintained forest service roads however one shelf road is very steep with dangerous washouts. The creeks through the canyon areas will require high ground clearance and can be technicality challenging. The creeks in this area normally contain water almost year round. In the winter and monsoon seasons expect a good flow of water that make the wash areas even more challenging.
This trail was found using the 'Guide to Arizona Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails' book. Discover this and many more trails in Arizona by purchasing your own copy today! With maps, turn-by-turn directions and GPS coordinates remove the guesswork and enjoy the beauty of the Arizona outdoors! If you’re planning a 4x4 trip, this guide is an invaluable resource. Click here for a full description and a where to buy!
(Click here to view the entire photo album of The Sunflower Mine Trail)
Posted
Jun 28 2008, 11:59 PM
by
ryangibson