The Canelo Hills Cienega Reserve, is a nature preserve southeast of
Sonoita, Arizona
Sonoita (; ood, Ṣon ʼOidag) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 818 at the 2010 census.
The origin of the name of the CDP is the O'odham ''Ṣon ʼOidag'', which may be best t ...
on the east side of the
Canelo Hills
The Canelo Hills are a range of low mountains or hills in eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The range consists of a series of northwest–southeast trending ridges extending from the Sonoita Creek valley southwest of Sonoita to the Parker Cany ...
. The area's are a mix of rare
cienega wetland and
black oak
Black Oak may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Black Oak, Arkansas
* Black Oak, Daviess County, Indiana
* Black Oak, Lake County, Indiana, a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana
* Black Oak, Missouri
Other
* Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Ar ...
and
Arizona fescue fields.
The preserve is notable for the extremely rare
Canelo ladies tresses orchid
''Spiranthes delitescens'' is a rare species of orchid known by the common names reclusive lady's tresses, Canelo Hills lady's tresses, and Madrean lady's tresses. It is native to Arizona in the United States, where there are only four occurrence ...
(Spiranthes delitescens)
and the
Gila chub
The Gila chub (''Gila intermedia'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae.
It is found in Mexico and the United States. The Gila chub is closely related to the roundtail chub.Rinne, J.N. 1969. ''Cyprinid fishes of the genus G ...
and
Gila sucker
The Sonora Sucker (Gila Sucker), ''Catostomus insignis'', is a medium-sized catostomid
The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family of freshwater fishes. The Catostomidae are almost exclu ...
that grow along its alkaline banks. The ranch was purchased by the
Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
in 1969 from the Knipes family.
It was designated a
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...
in December 1974.
[NNL Summary]
/ref>
References
External links
Arizona chapter of the Nature Conservancy
(site is now managed by Ramsey Ranch location)
{{authority control
National Natural Landmarks in Arizona
Nature Conservancy preserves
Protected areas of Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Nature reserves in Arizona