Between Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness and the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, adjoining the BLM 's North Santa Teresa Wilderness, access here is difficult. The Santa Teresas are a network of rugged mountains with bald summits, deep canyons, and sprawling mesas. Elevations range from less than 4,000 feet to 7,481 feet on the summit of Cottonwood Peak. Holdout and Mud Spring Mesas dominate the central Wilderness. Thick chaparral vegetation covers the terrain with stands of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir on the north flanks and the crest of Cottonwood Peak.
Black bears live here among coatimundi, javelina, and mountain lions.
Peregrine falcons soar overhead, hunting for prey. Human use of the area is very light. Water flows year-round from a few springs.