Quitobaquito Springs are springs in

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a U.S. national monument and UNESCO biosphere reserve located in extreme southern Arizona that shares a border with the Mexican state of Sonora. The park is the only place in the United States where the ...

Pima County, Arizona Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the population ...

. The name is of Tohono O'odham origin meaning 'house ring spring'. The area has been populated for at least 16,000 years. It lies at an elevation of , west of the south end of the

Quitobaquito Hills Quitobaquito Hills is a range of hills in Pima County, Arizona. The name is of Tohono O'odham - Spanish origin meaning 'house ring spring'. Its tallest summit is an unnamed hill that overlooks Cipriano Pass to the east. The range trends north ...

, along the border of the United States with Mexico. The only US populations of the endangered Quitobaquito pupfish, the Sonoyta mud turtle, the desert caper, and the Howarth's white butterfly are found here. The Quitabaquito tryonia is an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

resident of the springs.

History

The area around Quitobaquito Springs has been populated by desert-dwelling peoples for at least 16,000 years. It has served as a water source for local Tohono O'odham people. It was used by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

explorers, Díaz,

Kino Kino may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasters * KINO, a radio station in Arizona, U.S. * Kino FM (98.0 FM – Moscow), a Russian music radio station * KinoTV, now Ruutu+ Leffat ja Sarjat, a Finnish TV channel Fictional entities ...

, Garces and de Anza.

El Camino del Diablo El Camino del Diablo (Spanish, meaning "The Devil's Highway"), also known as El Camino del Muerto, Sonora Trail, Sonoyta-Yuma Trail, Yuma-Caborca Trail, and Old Yuma Trail, is a historic road that passes through some of the most remote and inhos ...

trail established by de Anza from

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

used and passed through the area of the spring which provided a trail for subsequent travelers between Sonora and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

into the later 19th century. The famous pond fed by the springs was built in the 1860s, and has a clay liner that requires frequent upkeep. In mid-2020, there was a massive drop in the pond's water levels, the likes of which have only been seen a few other times in the prior 60 years, causing large stretches of mudflats over the pond's north side. It has been speculated that this drop may be due to

overdrafting Overdrafting is the process of extracting groundwater beyond the equilibrium yield of an aquifer. Groundwater is one of the largest sources of fresh water and is found underground. Groundwater depletion is comparable to a bank account in which mor ...

by farmers in

Sonoyta Sonoyta, Sonora is a town in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. It stands on the U.S.-Mexico border, facing Lukeville, Arizona, in the United States. It is the municipal seat of the municipality of Plutarco Elías Calles. Demographics Accor ...

as well as the summer heat, but others suspect that the drop may be due to the construction of the

Trump wall The Trump wall, commonly referred to as "The Wall", is an expansion of the Mexico–United States barrier that started in the U.S. during the 1980’s to keep help enforce immigration laws in the United States. Prior to Donald Trump, border s ...

right nearby, which could have caused cracks in the pond's lining, causing water leakage, as well as excessive pumping of groundwater to create

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

for the wall.

References

{{Coord, 31, 56, 38, N, 113, 01, 10, W, display=title

Quitobaquito Springs Quitobaquito Springs are springs in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Pima County, Arizona. The name is of Tohono O'odham origin meaning 'house ring spring'. The area has been populated for at least 16,000 years. It lies at an elevation of ...

Gran Desierto de Altar