How the White Tank Mountains Got Their Name: A West Valley Story

The White Tank Mountains got their name from the water-carved basins, or "tanks," in their white granite. When heavy rain hits, flash floods rush down the steep canyons and scour out depressions in the pale rock near the base, and those pools of rainwater gave the whole range its name.

If you live anywhere in the West Valley, the White Tanks are the mountains you look at every evening when the sun goes down. They rise on the far west edge of the Phoenix area, with Buckeye to the southwest and Surprise to the northeast. The story behind the name is a story about water, which in the desert is always the main character.

What a "tank" means in the desert

In the desert, a "tank" is not a metal container. It is a natural basin in rock that catches and holds rainwater.

The White Tanks have plenty of them. According to Maricopa County Parks, rain is infrequent here, but when a heavy storm does come, floodwater plunges through the canyons and pours out onto the plain. Over a very long time, those floods have scoured a series of depressions into the white granite below. Those white tanks are what you are hearing about every time someone says the name of the range.

The sources I checked do not say who first called them the White Tanks or exactly when, so I won't guess. What they agree on is the reason: white rock and the water pockets carved into it.

A range without one big peak

Unlike Camelback or Four Peaks, the White Tanks don't have one signature summit that everyone points to. Wikipedia notes the range lacks a single, prominent peak. The high point is Barry Goldwater Peak, at 4,083 feet. From the valley floor the mountains look like a long, rumpled wall, and that is exactly why they make such a good backdrop for sunsets in Buckeye, Verrado and Waddell.

The people who lived here first

Long before subdivisions reached the foothills, people made a home in these canyons. Maricopa County Parks says at least eleven sites inside today's park were occupied between about A.D. 500 and 1100 by the Hohokam people, the same ancient culture known for building canals across the Salt River Valley. Village areas ranged from about 1 acre to 75 acres. Around A.D. 1100, the Hohokam left the area. Later, the Western Yavapai lived in the region.

They left their mark on the rocks. The county says there are hundreds of petroglyphs in the park, and some may be thousands of years old. The best-known spot is Petroglyph Plaza, along the Waterfall Canyon Trail, with the largest concentration of rock art in the park. Look and take photos, but please don't touch it.

A 1910 survey crew in the mountains

One fun bit of history comes from the White Tank Mountains Conservancy. In September 1910, Jasper Bilby and a crew of 12 men came to Arizona and set up a station on the White Tank Mountains for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. It is a good reminder that these mountains have been a landmark for a long time, not just since the West Valley started to grow.

How the mountains became a county park

Today most of the range is protected as White Tank Mountain Regional Park, which was established in the 1960s. The Conservancy notes an archaeology study was done in 1965, when the park was set up, and that study recorded the eleven sites. The park now covers nearly 30,000 acres, which Wikipedia calls the largest regional park in Maricopa County.

In 2010, the White Tank Library and Nature Center opened at the park entrance, with a big window view of the mountains, live native reptiles and a gift shop.

Seeing the tanks for yourself

The easiest way to see what the name is all about is the Waterfall Trail. It is about 0.9 mile long and ends in a narrow canyon with a seasonal waterfall. Here is the catch: the waterfall only runs right after a good rain. After a winter storm, though, it is worth the trip, and you can see the same kind of scoured basins that gave the White Tanks their name. You pass Petroglyph Plaza on the way.

The park has nearly 26 miles of hiking trails, plus campgrounds with RV access and restrooms with showers. The park entrance is at 20304 W. White Tank Mountain Road in Waddell. From November 1 to April 30 the park is open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and the Nature Center is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The county was running construction at one trailhead staging area this fall, so check the Maricopa County Parks alerts before you go.

Flash floods still happen here, especially in late summer storms, so stay out of the washes when rain is in the forecast.

Living near the White Tanks

The neighborhoods closest to the mountains sit in Buckeye, Waddell and Surprise. Verrado climbs right into the southern foothills, and the park itself has a Waddell address. If you want to see what is for sale nearby, my Buckeye guide and Surprise guide are good places to start. And if you like West Valley history, read my story on how Luke Air Force Base got its name.

Questions people ask

Why are they called the White Tank Mountains?
The name comes from depressions, or "tanks," that flash floods have scoured into the white granite near the base of the range. Those basins catch and hold rainwater.

Does the White Tank waterfall run all year?
No. The waterfall at the end of the Waterfall Trail is seasonal and usually flows only right after a heavy rain. Most of the year it is dry.

What is the highest point in the White Tank Mountains?
Barry Goldwater Peak is the highest point, at 4,083 feet. The range has no single dominant summit, so it looks like a long ridge from the valley.

Terry Day, REALTOR®, DeLex Realty, 10115 E Bell Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85260.