Santa Rita Mountains
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Santa Rita Mountains
The Santa Rita Mountains ( O'odham: To:wa Kuswo Doʼag), located about 65 km (40 mi) southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km (26 mi) from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Patagonia Mountains, trending northwest by southeast. The highest point in the range, and the highest point in the Tucson area, is Mount Wrightson, with an elevation of 9,453 feet (2,881 m), The range contains Madera Canyon, one of the world's premier birding areas. The Smithsonian Institution's Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is located on Mount Hopkins. The range is one of the Madrean sky islands. The Santa Rita Mountains are mostly within the Coronado National Forest. Prior to 1908 they were the principal component of Santa Rita National Forest, which was combined with other small forest tracts to form Coronado. Much of the range lies within the Mt. Wrightson Wilderness, managed by the Coronado National Forest. The Santa Rita Mou ...
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Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory
The Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is an American astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO); it is their largest field installation outside of their main site in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is located near Amado, Arizona on the summit, a ridge and at the foot of Mount Hopkins. Research activities include imaging and spectroscopy of extragalactic, stellar, solar system and extra-solar bodies, as well as gamma-ray and cosmic-ray astronomy. History In 1966, roadwork began on the current site with funding granted for the Smithsonian Mt. Hopkins Observatory. The Whipple 10-meter gamma-ray telescope was constructed in 1968. Formerly known as The Mount Hopkins Observatory, the observatory was renamed in late 1981 in honor of Fred Lawrence Whipple, noted planetary expert, space science pioneer, and director emeritus of SAO, under whose leadership the Arizona facility was established. Equipment Whipple observatory hosts ...
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Santa Rita Experimental Range
The Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area is the longest continuously active rangeland research facility and among the five oldest biological field stations in the United States. Located south of Tucson in Pima County, Arizona, the 52,000 acre Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) was founded in 1903 and administered by the United States Forest Service until 1987, when the University of Arizona College of Agriculture took over administration of the site. The mission at the SRER is "to advance research and education on the ecology and management of desert rangelands through the secure, long-term access to research areas, state-of-the-art facilities, new discoveries, and research legacies." Environmental data The SRER makes available several spatial and time series data sets for research purposes including monthly resolution precipitation data from 1922 to present, long term vegetation response studies, and livestock grazing histories. Additionally, the SRER maintains a ...
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Santa Catalina Mountains
The Santa Catalina Mountains, commonly referred to as the Catalina Mountains or the Catalinas, are north and northeast of Tucson in Arizona, United States, on Tucson's north perimeter. The mountain range is the most prominent in the Tucson area, with the highest average elevation. The highest point in the Catalinas is Mount Lemmon at an elevation of above sea level and receives of precipitation annually. Originally known by the Tohono O'odham Nation as Babad Do'ag, the Catalinas were later named in 1697 by Italian Jesuit priest Eusebio Francisco Kino in honor of St. Catherine who was the patron saint of Kino's oldest sister. The Catalinas are part of the Santa Catalina Ranger District located in the Coronado National Forest, and also include the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area. The mountain range is considered a prominent range in the Madrean sky islands, and partially delimits the mountain ranges in the northwest of the sky island region; lower elevation bajadas associated ...
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Battle Of Fort Buchanan
The Battle of Fort Buchanan was an Apache attack on the United States Army post of Old Fort Buchanan in southern Arizona Territory, which occurred on February 17, 1865. Though a skirmish, it ended with a significant Apache victory when they forced the small garrison of California Volunteers to retreat to the Santa Rita Mountains. Fort Buchanan was the only American military post conquered during the war against the Chiricahua.Scott, pg. 401–403 Background Because of the major civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865 and numerous conflicts involving the various Native American tribes, the Union Army was stretched thin on the frontier. The southern half of New Mexico Territory and the newly created Arizona Territory joined the Confederacy in 1861, so troops in California were raised to occupy the region. After Lieutenant George Bascom's 1860 confrontation with Chief Cochise (sometimes called the Bascom affair), the Apache began attacking Union and Confederate ...
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Empire Ranch
Empire Ranch is a working cattle ranch in southeastern Pima County, Arizona, that was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In its heyday, Empire Ranch was one of the largest in Arizona, with a range spanning over , and its owner, Walter L. Vail, was an important figure in the establishment of southern Arizona's cattle industry. History Establishment Empire Ranch is located on the eastern slope of the Santa Rita Mountains in Cienega Valley, fifty-two miles southeast of Tucson and about north of Sonoita. The property overlooks a shallow depression called Empire Gulch, through which a spring-fed rivlet bordered by cottonwoods courses eastward to Cienega Creek. The surrounding meadows are "thickly covered" with sacaton and salt grass. Tucson businessman Edward Nye Fish first occupied the site of the ranch in 1871, but it is uncertain whether or not he built the original four-room adobe house and corral, which may have already been there when he arrived. O ...
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List Of Mountain Ranges Of Arizona
There are 210 named mountain ranges in Arizona.This list also includes mountain ranges that are mostly in New Mexico and Sonora, Mexico, that extend into Arizona. Alphabetical list The southeast of Arizona, with New Mexico, northwest Chihuahua and northeast Sonora contain insular sky island mountain ranges, (the Madrean Sky Islands), or smaller subranges in association. There are also numerous Sonoran Desert ranges, or Arizona transition zone ranges. Northern and northeast Arizona also has scattered ranges throughout. #Agua Caliente Mountains–Yuma County and Maricopa County # Agua Dulce Mountains–Pima County #Aguila Mountains–Yuma County # Ajo Range–Pima County # Alvarez Mountains–Pima County #Aquarius Mountains–Mohave County # Artesa Mountains–Pima County # Artillery Mountains–Mohave County # Atascosa Mountains–Santa Cruz County # Aubrey Hills–Mohave County #'' Baboquivari Mountains''–Pima ...
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Green Valley, Arizona
Green Valley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 22,616 at the 2020 census. Geography Green Valley is located along the western side of the Santa Cruz River at (31.8556, -111.0001). Continental is to the east of Green Valley, on the other side of the river. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 26.3 square miles (68.0 km2), of which 26.2 square miles (68.0 km2) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km2) (0.08%) is water. Green Valley is twenty miles (32 km) south of Tucson and north of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Surrounded by copper mines, and near the cycling, hiking and birding areas of the Santa Rita Mountains, Green Valley is an unincorporated retirement community composed of 59 Homeowner Associations. The largest of the mines are the Sierrita Mine owned by Freeport-McMoRan and the Mission Mine of ASARCO. C ...
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Sahuarita, Arizona
Sahuarita is a town in Pima County, Arizona, United States. Sahuarita is located south of the Tohono O'odham Nation and abuts the north end of Green Valley, 15 miles (24 km) south of Tucson. The population was 34,134 at th2020 census History Sahuarita was founded in 1911 and incorporated in 1994. Hohokam (200–1450) The first known human inhabitants of the Sahuarita region were the Hohokam people, which may be the ancestors of the modern day Tohono O'odham nation. The Hohokam were known for their highly innovative and extensive use of irrigation. The Hohokam were a very peaceful people, they had extensive trade routes extending to Mesoamerica, and showed many cultural influences from their southern neighbors.Henry, P.; Bufkin, D: "Historical Atlas of Arizona". University of Oklahoma Press 1979 Sobaipuri (1400–1900) The Sobaipuri were possibly related to the Hohokam, and occupied the Southern portion of the Santa Cruz, with the Pima to their North and South. While Coro ...
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San Rafael Valley
The San Rafael Valley is a high intermontane grass valley in eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The valley is bounded to the west by the Patagonia Mountains, to the north and northeast by the Canelo Hills and to the east by the Huachuca Mountains in Cochise County. The valley forms the headwaters of the Santa Cruz River which flows south into Sonora, Mexico just east of the historic Lochiel townsite. The San Rafael de la Zanja Land Grant lies in the valley center just north of Lochiel. The Nature Conservancy purchased the former land grant ranch in 1998 and Arizona established the "San Rafael State Natural Area" in the valley in 1999 on the southern part of that property. The protected areas are not open to the public. The land grant is privately owned. The State Natural Area is south of the land grant, and borders Mexico. In 2008, the San Rafael Ranch headquarters was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the "San Rafael Ranch Historic District". Huachuca ...
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El Jefe (jaguar)
El Jefe is an adult, male North American jaguar that was seen in Arizona. He was first recorded in the Whetstone Mountains in November 2011, and was later photographed over several years in the Santa Rita Mountains. From November 2011 to late 2015, El Jefe was the only wild jaguar verified to live in the United States since the death of Arizona Jaguar Macho B in 2009. According to "Notes on the Occurrences of Jaguars in Arizona and New Mexico", an article regarding jaguars in the Southwest US, "Sixty two jaguars have been reportedly killed or captured in the American Southwest since 1900." He was not seen in Arizona after September 2015 and it was presumed that he returned to Mexico, where the nearest breeding population of jaguars is located. This was confirmed almost seven years later in August 2022, when a collective of conservation groups announced that he had been photographed using a motion-detecting camera, on November 27, 2021, in the central part of the state of Sonora. ...
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Arizona State Route 83
State Route 83 (SR 83) is a scenic state highway in southern Arizona, stretching from its junction with Interstate 10 near Vail south to Parker Canyon Lake. It passes through sparsely populated areas of Pima, Cochise Cochise (; Apache: ''Shi-ka-She'' or ''A-da-tli-chi'', lit.: ''having the quality or strength of an oak''; later ''K'uu-ch'ish'' or ''Cheis'', lit. ''oak''; June 8, 1874) was leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen and principa ... and Santa Cruz Counties, passing through the wine towns of Sonoita and Elgin. Route description The southern terminus of Route 83 is located at Parker Canyon Lake. It heads northwest from the lake and passes through Sonoita before it reaches a junction with SR 82. It continues to the north from this junction to its northern terminus at an interchange with I-10 near Vail, southeast of Tucson. Junction list References External links {{Attached KML, display=title,inlineSR 83 at Arizona Roads 083 Transp ...
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Helvetia, Arizona
Helvetia is a ghost town in Pima County, Arizona, United States that was settled in 1891 and abandoned in the early 1920s. Helvetia is an ancient name for Switzerland. History Helvetia was founded in 1891 for the settlement of workers from the surrounding copper mines. At its peak the city had 300 inhabitants, of which most were Mexicans. At one point, Helvetia had a public school (run by School District No. 14, Pima County). In 1911, the mines closed, due to low commodity prices. The post office, which had opened on December 12, 1899, closed on December 31, 1921, marking the end of the town. The 1967 western film '' Hombre'' was shot in Helvetia. Today There is not much left of Helvetia to see, simply a pair of foundation walls rising above a floor, the ruins of the smelter, and the cemetery. In the vicinity there are slag heaps and shafts from the mines. Although the town is gone, there are several homes in the immediate area that are still in use, including the Helvetia Ra ...
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