William Emory, a topographer and scientist for the group, referred to the mountain in his journal and on the map of his trip as Mount Graham, for his friend and fellow Army officer James Duncan Graham.
Graham County is named after Mt. Graham.
Mt. Graham is a marked contrast to the other peaks in the area. Unlike the lava based-mountains, which are either barren or foliated by low shrubs, Mt. Graham has a profusion of trees that date back to antiquity. Botanists say the Douglas firs have survived because the rocky cliffs of the mountains have served as a fire barrier for them. The scientists also found dead firs that dated as far back as 1102. They passed through in the 1500s while searching for the Seven Cities of Cibola, fabled settlements where streets were supposedly paved with gold.