From summary: The Harquahala Mountains BLM Wilderness Study Area is in the Basin and Range physiographic province of west-central Arizona. The present study covers 24,735 acres of the 72,675 acre wilderness study area, preliminary recommended as suitable for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System in La Paz and Maricopa Counties, Arizona. During the winter of 1983-84, under authority of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (Public Law 94-579), the Bureau mapped and sampled mines and prospects in and near the WSA to determine the mineral resources present.

Maricopa county is the area of Arizona receiving top priority since it contains over half of the state's population. The county is located entirely within the Basin and Range physiographic region in which geothermal resources are known to occur. Several approaches were taken to match potential users to geothermal resources. One approach involved matching some of the largest facilities in the county to nearby geothermal resources. Other approaches involved identifying industrial processes whose heat requirements are less than the average assessed geothermal reservoir temperature of 110/sup 0/C (230/sup 0/F). Since many of the industries are located on or near geothermal resources, geothermal energy potentially could be adapted to many industrial processes.