This landscape is the result of several mountain building events, separated and followed by the erosional forces of an extremely arid climate. The sharp-crested sierra mountains visible today are thought to have been produced during the late Tertiary and early Quaternary Basin and Range disturbance. Volcanic activity produced bedded mesa-type mountains composed of volcanic ash and lava flows and the basaltic lava flows in the Pinacate and Sentinel Plain volcanic fields. There are 23 mountain ranges on the Goldwater Range, typically rising from 1,000 to 2,000 feet above the valley floors, which range from 100 to 1,800 feet above sea level. Maricopa Peak in the Sand Tank Mountains rises to over 4,000 feet above sea level.
Sierras are more predominant on the range, and have a jagged and sharply crested profile.
The Mohawk Mountains are an example of a sierra-type mountain. Mesas are blocky and uniform in shape, and relatively flat on top. The Growler Range exemplifies this type of mountain. Luke Air Force Range Natural Resources Management Plan, University of Arizona, 1986.