Whetstone Mountains
| Whetstone Mountains | |
|---|---|
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Apache Peak |
| Elevation | 7,711 ft (2,350 m) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 14 mi (23 km) N-S |
| Width | 9 mi (14 km) E-W |
| Geography | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| Region | Northwestern Chihuahuan Desert |
| Municipalities | Benson and Sierra Vista |
| Range coordinates | 31°48′41″N 110°25′07″W / 31.8114757°N 110.4186871°W |
| Borders on | San Pedro River, San Pedro Valley, I-10, Mule Mountains and Huachuca Mountains |
The Whetstone Mountains are a range of mountains in Cochise County, southeastern Arizona.
The Opata called the mountains Babocomari, a name still attached to the nearby Babocomari River. The Spanish continued the name as Sierra del Babocomari. American Colonel Benjamin Bonneville reporting on an inspection tour of the area in May 1859, gave the mountains their current name, because they contain a deposit of a hard fine-grained rock named Novaculite, that could be used as whetstones to sharpen cutlery and tools.