Saguaro National Park is an American
national park
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
in
Pima County
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 populati ...
, southeastern
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. The park consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain District (TMD) about west of the city of
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
and the Rincon Mountain District (RMD) about east of the city—that preserve
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...
landscapes, fauna, and flora, including the giant
saguaro
The saguaro (, ) (''Carnegiea gigantea'') is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus ''Carnegiea'' that can grow to be over tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountai ...
cactus.
The volcanic rocks on the surface of the Tucson Mountain District differ greatly from the surface rocks of the Rincon Mountain District; over the past 30 million years, crustal stretching displaced rocks from beneath the
Tucson Mountains
The Tucson Mountains ( O'odham: Cuk Doʼag) are a minor mountain range west of Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Mountains, including Wasson Peak, are one of four notable mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson Basin. The Santa Catalina Mountains l ...
of the Tucson Mountain District to form the
Rincon Mountains of the Rincon Mountain District. Uplifted, domed, and eroded, the Rincon Mountains are significantly higher and wetter than the Tucson Mountains. The Rincons, as one of the
Madrean Sky Islands
The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine–oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are s ...
between the southern Rocky Mountains and the
Sierra Madre Oriental
The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...
in Mexico, support high
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...
and are home to many plants and animals that do not live in the Tucson Mountain District.
Earlier residents of and visitors to the lands in and around the park before its creation included the
Hohokam
Hohokam () was a culture in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. It existed between 300 and 1500 AD, with cultural precursors possibly as early as 300 BC. Archaeologists disagree about ...
,
Sobaipuri
The Sobaipuri were one of many indigenous groups occupying Sonora and what is now Arizona at the time Europeans first entered the American Southwest. They were a Piman or O'odham group who occupied southern Arizona and northern Sonora (the Pimerí ...
,
Tohono O'odham,
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...
s, Spanish explorers, missionaries, miners,
homesteaders
The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of ...
, and ranchers. In 1933, President
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...
used the power of the
Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential pro ...
to establish the original park, Saguaro National Monument, in the Rincon Mountains. In 1961, President
John F. Kennedy added the Tucson Mountain District to the monument and renamed the original tract the Rincon Mountain District.
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
combined the Tucson Mountain District and the Rincon Mountain District to form the national park in 1994.
Popular activities in the park include hiking on its of trails and sightseeing along paved roads near its two visitor centers. Both districts allow bicycling and horseback riding on selected roads and trails. The Rincon Mountain District offers limited wilderness camping, but there is no overnight camping in the Tucson Mountain District.
Names
![A large cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) at Saguaro National Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/A_large_cactus_%28Carnegiea_gigantea%29_at_Saguaro_National_Park.jpg)
The park gets its name from the
saguaro
The saguaro (, ) (''Carnegiea gigantea'') is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus ''Carnegiea'' that can grow to be over tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountai ...
(''Carnegiea gigantea''),
a large
cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...
that is native to the Sonoran Desert and that does not grow naturally elsewhere.
''Rincón''—as in
Rincon Mountains, Rincon Creek, and Rincon Valley—is
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, Can ...
for ''corner'', and refers to the shape of the mountain range and its footprint. The name ''Tucson'' derives from
Papago-Piman words ''cuk ṣon'' , meaning ''dark spring'' or ''brown spring''. ''Tank'' or ''Tanque'' refers to a small artificial pool behind a dam that traps
runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...
in an existing natural depression. ''Madrean'' derives from ''Madre'' in Sierra Madre (Mother Mountains).
Geography
The park consists of two separate parcels, the Tucson Mountain District (TMD) to the west of
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, and the Rincon Mountain District (RMD) to the east. Each parcel comes within about of the center of the city. Their total combined area in 2016 was .
The Tucson Mountain District covers about ,
while the much larger Rincon Mountain District accounts for the balance of about .
[Calculated by subtracting the Tucson Mountain District approximation from the total acreage.] About of the park, including large fractions of both districts, is designated
wilderness
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
.
[ The map at this site, when zoomed out sufficiently, outlines the wilderness areas in both districts.]
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...
, the major highway nearest to the park, passes through Tucson.
Tucson Mountain Park abuts the south side of the Tucson Mountain District, and to its west lies the
Avra Valley
The Avra Valley is a 50-mile (80 km) long northwest–southeast valley, bordering the west of Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Mountains are at the valley's center-east, with suburbs ranging east of the Tucson Mountains and trending northwest to ...
.
The Rincon Mountain Wilderness, a separate protected area of about in the
Coronado National Forest
The Coronado National Forest is a United States National Forest that includes an area of about 1.78 million acres (7,200 km2) spread throughout mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
It is located in parts of ...
,
abuts the Rincon Mountain District on the east and southeast, while the Rincon Valley lies immediately south of the western part of the Rincon Mountain District.
Both districts conserve tracts of the
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...
, including ranges of significant hills, the
Tucson Mountains
The Tucson Mountains ( O'odham: Cuk Doʼag) are a minor mountain range west of Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Mountains, including Wasson Peak, are one of four notable mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson Basin. The Santa Catalina Mountains l ...
in the west and the Rincon Mountains in the east.
Elevations in the Tucson Mountain District range from ,
the summit of Wasson Peak.
Elevations within the Rincon Mountain District vary from
at the summit of
Mica Mountain
Mica Mountain is an peak in the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park is an American national park in Pima County, southeastern Arizona. The park consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain Distri ...
.
Saguaro National Park lies within the watershed of the north-flowing
Santa Cruz River, which is generally dry.
Rincon Creek in the southern part of the Rincon Mountain District, free-flowing for at least part of the year, has the largest
riparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...
in the park. The creek is a tributary of
Pantano Wash, which crosses Tucson from southeast to northwest to meet Tanque Verde Wash. The two washes form the
Rillito River, another dry wash, an east–west tributary of the Santa Cruz River.
The washes in both districts are usually dry but are subject at times to flash floods. Smaller riparian zones are found near
springs and
tinaja Tinaja is a term originating in Spain (Spanish for clay jar) and used in the American Southwest for surface pockets (depressions) formed in bedrock that occur below waterfalls, are carved out by spring flow or seepage, or are caused by sand and gra ...
s in the Rincon Mountain District. The largest of the springs is at Manning Camp, high in the Rincons.
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
system, Saguaro National Park has a
Hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...
(''BSh''). According to the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...
, the Plant
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
at Red Hills Visitor Center is 9b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of , and 9a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of at Rincon Mountain Visitor Center .
Brief violent summer rains are usually accompanied by lightning,
dust storm
A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transp ...
s and
flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing ...
s. Some moisture at the highest elevations in the Rincons falls as snow in winter; snowmelt adds to the limited water available at lower elevations later in the year.
Studies of the effects of
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
on the park show that its annual mean temperature rose about 4 °F (2.2 C) from 1900 to 2010. Climate data below is from 2019:
Geology
![Javelina Rocks in the RMD](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Javelina_Rocks_in_the_RMD.jpg)
Saguaro National Park's oldest rocks, the Pinal Schist, pre-date the formation of the contemporary
Basin and Range Province
The Basin and Range Province is a vast physiographic region covering much of the inland Western United States and northwestern Mexico. It is defined by unique basin and range topography, characterized by abrupt changes in elevation, alternating ...
, of which the park is a part, by about 1.7 billion years.
The
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...
is exposed in the Rincon Mountain District along a
dry wash off Cactus Forest Loop Drive. Other ancient rocks, 1.4-billion-year-old altered
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...
s, form much of Tanque Verde Ridge
in the Rincon Mountain District.
Much later, about 600 million years ago, shallow seas covered the region around present-day Tucson; over time that led to deposition of
sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
s—
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
s,
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
s, and
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...
s.
Limestone, which occurs in the park in several places, was mined here in the late 19th century to make
mortar.
The future park land had six
lime kiln
A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone ( calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is
: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2
This reaction can take pla ...
s, two in the Tucson Mountain District, and four in the Rincon Mountain District. Three, all in the Rincon Mountain District, can be visited today—two along the Cactus Forest Trail and one along the Ruiz Trail.
About 80 million years ago
tectonic plate
Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large te ...
movements induced a period of mountain building, the
Laramide orogeny
The Laramide orogeny was a time period of mountain building in western North America, which started in the Late Cretaceous, 70 to 80 million years ago, and ended 35 to 55 million years ago. The exact duration and ages of beginning and end of the ...
, which lasted until about 50 million years ago in western North America. Explosive volcanic eruptions formed the Tucson Mountains about 70 million years ago, and the roof of the volcano at their center collapsed to form a
caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
across. The caldera was eventually filled by debris flows, the intrusion of a granitic
pluton
In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
, and lava flows, some as recent as 30 to 15 million years ago. Volcanic rocks exposed in and near the Tucson Mountain District are remnants of these events. Examples include large
breccia
Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix.
The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of ...
exposed at Grants Pass and a granitic remnant of the
magma chamber
A magma chamber is a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. The molten rock, or magma, in such a chamber is less dense than the surrounding country rock, which produces buoyant forces on the magma that tend to drive it up ...
, which is visible from the Sus Picnic Area in the Tucson Mountain District. Not all of the molten granite reached the surface of the Tucson Mountains; some cooled and crystallized far below.
The Tucson Basin and nearby mountains—including the Tucson Mountains to the west, the
Santa Catalinas to the north, and the Rincons to the east—are part of the Basin and Range Province extending from northern Mexico to southern
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
in the United States. The province, of relatively recent geologic origin, formed when plate movements stretched and thinned the Earth's crust in this part of western North America until the crust pulled apart along
faults. The Catalina Fault, a low-angle
detachment fault
A detachment fault is a gently dipping normal fault associated with large-scale extensional tectonics. Detachment faults often have very large displacements (tens of km) and juxtapose unmetamorphosed hanging walls against medium to high-grade me ...
, began to form about 30 million years ago about below the surface of the Tucson Mountains. The rocks under the fault, the lower-plate rocks, were eventually displaced east-northeast relative to the rocks above the fault, then uplifted, domed, and eroded to form the Santa Catalina and Rincon mountains visible today. Although the volcanic rocks seen on the surface of the Tucson Mountain District are not found in the Rincon Mountain District,
the crystallized granite (Catalina
gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...
) from beneath the Tucson Mountains was eventually exposed on the Rincon Mountain District's surface. The most common rock type in the Rincon Mountains, this banded gneiss is visible in the Rincon Mountain District at sites such as Javelina Rocks along the Cactus Forest Loop Drive.
History
Early
![Sunshine-AZ Photo Saguaro Park West Petroglyphs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Sunshine-AZ_Photo_Saguaro_Park_West_Petroglyphs.jpg)
The earliest known residents of the land in and around what later became Saguaro National Park were the
Hohokam
Hohokam () was a culture in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. It existed between 300 and 1500 AD, with cultural precursors possibly as early as 300 BC. Archaeologists disagree about ...
, who lived there in villages between 200 and 1450 A.D.
Petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s and bits of broken pottery are among Hohokam artifacts found in the park. The Hohokam hunted deer and other animals, gathered
cholla buds,
prickly pears,
palo verde pods, and saguaro fruit, and grew corn, beans, and squash. Subsequent indigenous cultures, the
Sobaipuri
The Sobaipuri were one of many indigenous groups occupying Sonora and what is now Arizona at the time Europeans first entered the American Southwest. They were a Piman or O'odham group who occupied southern Arizona and northern Sonora (the Pimerí ...
of the Tucson Basin and the
Tohono O'odham to the west, may be descendants of the Hohokam,
though the evidence is inconclusive.
Spanish explorers first entered Arizona in 1539–40.
Non-native settlement of the region near the park did not occur until 1692 with the founding of
San Xavier Mission along the Santa Cruz River,
which flowed through Tucson.
In 1775, the Spaniards built
Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón
Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón was a presidio (Spanish colonization of the Americas, colonial Spanish fort) located within Tucson, Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States. The original fortress was built by Spanish Empire, Spanish soldiers du ...
, a military fort in what was then part of
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the A ...
, in part to protect against raids by
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...
s.
The lands that eventually would become Saguaro National Park remained relatively free of development until the mid-19th century, after Arizona had become part of the United States. After passage of the
Homestead Act of 1862
The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of ...
, the arrival of the railroad in 1880, and the end of the
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. After the Mexi ...
in 1886,
homesteaders
The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of ...
and ranchers established themselves in the Tucson and Rincon Mountains, and miners sought silver, copper, and other valuable
ores and minerals.
Mining in the park continued intermittently through 1942,
while ranching on private in-holdings within the park continued until the mid-1970s.
The defunct Loma Verde Mine, which is still visible in the Rincon Mountain District,
produced a small amount of copper and gold between 1897 and 1907.
Mining of
igneous rock
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma o ...
at 149 sites in the Tucson Mountain District sometimes produced ores of modest value in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The most successful, the Copper King Mine (later renamed the Mile Wide Mine), yielded 34,000 tons of copper, gold, lead, zinc, and
molybdenum
Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ...
ores, mostly during the war years of 1917, 1918, and 1941; it closed permanently in 1942 when it became unprofitable.
Ranchers grazed thousands of cattle on public land that would later become part of the park, and homesteaders farmed and ranched at the base of the Rincons,
filing homestead applications from the 1890s through 1930.
The remains of the former Freeman Homestead, established in 1929, lie along a nature trail in the Rincon Mountain District. The homestead is on the Arizona State Register of Historic Places.
Manning Cabin, built in 1905 as a summer retreat for
Levi Manning, a wealthy businessman and one-term mayor of Tucson, is part of the infrastructure at Manning Camp near Mica Mountain.
Modified and restored after falling into disrepair, it was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1975.
Cultural resources in the park include more than 450 archeological sites and more than 60 historic structures.
After 1920
![Saguaro National Park1935](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Saguaro_National_Park1935.jpg)
In 1920 members of the Natural History Society of the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...
expressed interest in establishing a protected area for saguaro, a cactus species familiar to watchers of silent-movie
Westerns
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
. In 1928
Homer L. Shantz, a plant scientist and the university's president, joined the efforts to create a saguaro sanctuary,
but issues related to funding and management delayed the creation of a park. In 1933
Frank Harris Hitchcock, publisher of the ''
Tucson Citizen
The ''Tucson Citizen'' was a daily newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick with John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15, 1870, as the ''Arizona Citizen''.
When it ceased printing on May 16, 2009, the daily ...
'' and a former
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency.
The PMG is selected and appointed by ...
who was influential in the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
* Republican Party (Liberia)
*Republican Party ...
, persuaded U.S. President
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...
to create Saguaro National Monument. Hoover used his power under the
Antiquities Act of 1906 to create the monument by proclamation on March 1, 1933.
Later that year President
Franklin D. Roosevelt transferred management of the monument, east of Tucson in the Rincon Mountains, to the National Park Service.
Between 1936 and 1939, during the Roosevelt administration, the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a ...
(CCC) built the monument's Cactus Forest Loop Drive and related infrastructure.
The monument's visitor center opened in the 1950s.
In 1961 President
John F. Kennedy—encouraged by
Stewart Udall
Stewart Lee Udall (January 31, 1920 – March 20, 2010) was an American politician and later, a federal government official. After serving three terms as a congressman from Arizona, he served as Secretary of the Interior from 1961 to 1969, und ...
, an Arizonan who was then
Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to:
* Secretary of the Interior (Mexico)
* Interior Secretary of Pakistan
* Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines)
* United States Secretary of the Interior
See also
*Interior ministry
An ...
—added of cactus lands in the Tucson Mountains to the monument.
This western district of the monument was carved from Tucson Mountain Park, managed by
Pima County
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 populati ...
. In the 1920s, the Tucson Game Protective Association had persuaded the Department of the Interior to withdraw about in the Tucson Mountains from homesteading and mining and to set it aside as a park and game refuge. Land leased by the county in this set-aside became the Tucson Mountain Recreation Area in 1932. Between 1933 and 1941 CCC workers built structures at eight picnic areas in the county-park portion of the set-aside, five of which later became part of the Tucson Mountain District of the national monument. Their other projects involved road- and trail-building, landscaping, erosion control, and enhancing water supplies for wildlife. Kennedy's 1961 proclamation created the Tucson Mountain District from the northern part of the county park and renamed the original monument lands east of Tucson the Rincon Mountain District.
Expansions in 1976 and 1994 brought the total Tucson Mountain District area to . In 1994
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
elevated the combined Tucson Mountain District and Rincon Mountain District to National Park status.
The
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 () is a $2.3trillion spending bill that combines $900 billion in stimulus relief for the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States with a $1.4trillion omnibus spending bill for the 2021 federal fiscal yea ...
added to the park.
Biology
Plants and fungi
![Fairy duster Saguaro NP](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Fairy_duster_Saguaro_NP.jpg)
According to the
A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...
U.S.
Potential natural vegetation
In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...
Types, Saguaro National Park encompasses four classifications; a
Parkinsonia
''Parkinsonia'' , also ''Cercidium'' , is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 12 species that are native to semi-desert regions of Africa and the Americas. The name of the genus honors English apothecary ...
/
Cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...
(''43'') vegetation type with a
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...
(8) vegetation form, a
Creosote bush scrub Creosote bush scrub is a North American desert vegetation type (or biome) of sparsely but evenly spaced desert plants dominated by creosote bush (''Larrea tridentata'') and its associates. Its visual characterization is of widely spaced shrubs that ...
/
Ragweed (''42'') vegetation type with a
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...
(''8'') vegetation form, a
Bouteloua
''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass.
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths ...
/
Pleuraphis mutica
''Hilaria mutica'', synonym ''Pleuraphis mutica'', is a species of grass known by the common name tobosa, or tobosa grass. It is native to Northern Mexico, and the Southwestern United States, in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.Uchytil, R ...
Steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate gras ...
(''58'') vegetation type with a
Desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
Steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate gras ...
(''14'') vegetation form, and an
Oak/
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arc ...
Woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
(''31'') vegetation type with a
Great Basin montane forests
The Great Basin montane forests is an ecoregion of the Temperate coniferous forests biome, as designated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Geography
The Great Basin montane forests ecoregion is located in the Great Basin region of Nevada, easte ...
/Southwest
Forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
(4) vegetation form.
Plant communities within the park vary with elevation. The Tucson Mountain District has two distinct communities,
desert scrub—such as
fourwing saltbush and
brittlebrush—at the lowest elevations, and desert grassland a little higher. The Rincon Mountain District includes these two communities as well as four more at higher elevations, oak woodland, pine–oak woodland, pine forest and, high in the Rincons,
mixed conifer forest
Mixed is the past tense of ''mix''.
Mixed may refer to:
* Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), an ethnicity category that has been used by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics since the 1991 Census
* Mixed (album), ''Mixed'' ...
—
Douglas-fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
,
Ponderosa pine
''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...
,
white fir
''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain ranges ...
,
Gambel oak
''Quercus gambelii'', with the common name Gambel oak, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that is widespread in the foothills and lower mountains of western North America. It is also regionally called scrub oak, oak brush, and white oak.
...
, and many other trees, shrubs, and
understory
In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...
plants. During annual inventories in 2011 and 2013, hundreds of scientists and thousands of volunteers identified 389 species of
vascular plant
Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They ...
s, 25 of
non-vascular plants, and 197 species of
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...
in Saguaro National Park.
Saguaros, which flourish in both districts of the park, grow at an exceptionally slow rate. The first arm of a saguaro typically appears when the cactus is between 50 and 70 years old though it may be closer to 100 years in places where precipitation is very low. Saguaros may live as long as 200 years and are considered mature at about age 125. A mature saguaro may grow up to tall and weigh up to when fully hydrated.
The total number of saguaros in the park is estimated at 1.8 million, and 24 other species of cactus are abundant. The most common of these are the
fishhook barrel,
staghorn cholla,
pinkflower hedgehog,
Engelman's prickly pear,
teddybear cholla, and
jumping cholla
''Cylindropuntia fulgida'', the jumping cholla, also known as the hanging chain cholla, is a cholla cactus native to Sonora and the Southwestern United States.
The greatest range of the jumping cholla is the entirety of Sonora, except the Sier ...
.
Invasive plants include
fountain grass,
tamarisk
The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Ta ...
,
Malta starthistle, and many others, but by far the most severe threat to the native ecosystem is
buffelgrass
''Cenchrus ciliaris'' (buffel-grass or African foxtail grass; syn. ''Pennisetum ciliare'' (L.) Link) is a species of grass native to most of Africa, southern Asia (east to India), southern Iran, and the extreme south of Europe (Sicily). Other na ...
.
This drought-tolerant plant, native to parts of Africa and Asia, was imported to the United States in the 1930s and planted near Tucson and elsewhere to create cattle forage and to control erosion. First detected in the park in 1989, it has dispersed widely in both districts. Competing with other plants for sustenance, buffelgrass fills the empty spaces normally found between native desert plants and creates a significant fire hazard. The
noxious weed
A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or li ...
, considered impossible to eliminate, is managed in some areas of the park and in Tucson residential zones by hand-pulling and, during periods of wet weather, application of
glyphosate
Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plant enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshik ...
-based herbicides.
Animals
![Javelina in Saguaro National Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Javelina_in_Saguaro_National_Park.jpg)
An inventory of medium and large mammals in the park confirmed the presence of 30 species in Saguaro National Park between 1999 and 2008. Of these, 21 were found in the Tucson Mountain District and 29 in the Rincon Mountain District. A partial list of the park's mammals includes
cougars
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...
,
coyotes
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the ...
s,
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
,
mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whi ...
,
javelinas,
gray fox
The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littor ...
es,
black-tailed jackrabbits,
desert cottontails,
ring-tailed cat
The ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus'') is a mammal of the raccoon family native to arid regions of North America. It is widely distributed and well adapted to disturbed areas. It has been legally trapped for its fur. It is listed as Least Co ...
s,
white-nosed coati
The white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica''), also known as the coatimundi (), is a species of coati and a member of the family Procyonidae (raccoons and their relatives). Local Spanish names for the species include ''pizote'', ''antoon'', and ''te ...
s,
ground squirrels, and
packrats
A pack rat or packrat, also called a woodrat or trade rat, are any species in the North and Central American rodent genus ''Neotoma''. Pack rats have a rat-like appearance, with long tails, large ears, and large, black eyes. Pack rats are notice ...
. One
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
mammal, the
lesser long-nosed bat, lives part of the year in the park and part of the year in Mexico.
The wide range of habitats in the park supports a diverse population of birds including some, such as the
vermilion flycatcher and the
whiskered screech owl
The whiskered screech owl (''Megascops trichopsis'') is a small screech owl found in North and Central America.
Description
Adults occur in 2 color morphs, in either brown or dark grey plumage. They have a round head with ear tufts, yellow eyes ...
, uncommon elsewhere in the United States. Among the park's 107 bird species
are
great horned owl
The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extre ...
s,
cactus wren
The cactus wren (''Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus'') is a species of wren endemic to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It is the state bird of Arizona, and the largest wren in the United States. ...
s,
ravens,
kestrels
The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviou ...
,
turkey vulture
The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of So ...
s,
roadrunners,
woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions ...
,
hawks
Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily ...
,
quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy.
Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...
s, and
hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...
, and one threatened species, the
Mexican spotted owl
The spotted owl (''Strix occidentalis'') is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of old-growth forests in western North America, where it nests in tree hollows, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between high and u ...
.
The park's 36 reptile species
include
desert tortoise
The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''), is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexic ...
s,
diamondback rattlesnakes (one of the more commonly seen snakes),
coral snakes,
Gila monsters,
short-horned lizards,
spiny lizards, and
zebra-tailed lizards. Despite the aridity, three
amphibian
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...
species inhabit the park:
the
canyon tree frog, the
lowland leopard frog
The lowland leopard frog (''Lithobates yavapaiensis'') is a species of frog in the family True frog, Ranidae that is found in Mexico and the United States.
Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater lakes ...
, and
Couch's spadefoot, which lives in burrows, emerging to breed during summer rains. Forest fires, which create erosion-prone burned areas, have destroyed many of the leopard frog's breeding pools, which fill with sediment. The
Arizona Game and Fish Department
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is a state agency of Arizona, headquartered in Phoenix. The agency is tasked with conserving, enhancing, and restoring Arizona's diverse wildlife resources and habitats through protection and management progra ...
lists the lowland leopard frog as a species of special concern.
Urban sprawl, air and water pollution, noise,
light pollution
Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day ...
, and a range of habitat restricted by human infrastructure put stress on the park's mammals and other animals, but the most serious immediate threat to them is
roadkill. About 50,000
vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...
s a year die on the park's roads when they are hit by a vehicle. The Rincon Mountain District has few roads, but Picture Rocks Road, an east–west commuter highway crossing the Tucson Mountain District, is highly dangerous to wildlife. Attempts in 2002 to convert it to a hiking trail failed after the proposal met with stiff public resistance.
Sky Islands
The Rincons and the nearby Santa Catalinas (but not the shorter Tucson Mountains) are among about 40 mountain ranges known as the
Madrean Sky Islands
The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine–oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are s ...
that are of special interest to biologists. These ranges, resembling a series of stepping stones between the southern end of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
—specifically the
Mogollon Rim
The Mogollon Rim ( or or ) is a topographical and geological feature cutting across the northern half of the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately , starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border ...
of the
Colorado Plateau—in the United States and the
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American ...
in Mexico, are continental "islands" separated from one another by "seas" of lower-elevation valleys that impede but do not completely block
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
migration from one
sky island
Sky islands are topographic isolation, isolated mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. The term originally referred to those found on the Mexican Plateau, and has extended to similarly isolated montane ecosystems, hi ...
to another. Ecologist
Peter Warshall lists several characteristics that make the Madrean complex unique among Earth's 20 or so sky-island complexes. Among these are its north–south orientation across eight degrees of
latitude
In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
spanning zones from the temperate to the subtropical, the highly varied nature of its geologic origin and of its soils, the moderate to high
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
of its terrain, and its safe distance from the
mass extinctions
An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp change in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. It ...
related to the northern
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
s of the most recent
Ice Age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
. Influenced by these and other conditions, the Madrean Sky Islands support unusual
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...
.
Recreation
The park is generally open to hikers all day every day except Christmas; the Tucson Mountain District is open to vehicle traffic from sunrise to sunset and the Rincon Mountain District from 7 a.m. to sunset. Both districts have visitor centers. More than of hiking trails wind through the park,
where perils may include extreme heat, dehydration, flash floods, cactus spines, snakes, cougars, bears, and
Africanized bees. The Rincon Mountain District is open to wilderness camping, which requires a permit,
but no overnight camping is permitted in the Tucson Mountain District.
Tucson Mountain District
![TMD trail map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/TMD_trail_map.png)
The Tucson Mountain District has of paved roads and of unpaved roads,
including the Bajada Loop Drive.
Bicycling is allowed only on paved roads, as well as Bajada Loop Drive, Golden Gate Road, and the Belmont multi-use trail.
Horses and other livestock are allowed on some of the trails.
Hohokam petroglyphs etched into large stones are easily accessible in the Tucson Mountain District. The Signal Hill Trail, which begins at the Signal Hill Picnic Area along the Bajada Loop Drive, leads to an area with dozens of examples of the 800-year-old rock art.
Among the notable artificial structures in the Tucson Mountain District are
ramadas, picnic tables, and restrooms built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1933 and 1941. Designed to conform to their natural surrounds, the rustic buildings consist mainly of quarried stone and other materials native to the area.
The
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a 98-acre (40 ha) zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum, publisher, and art gallery founded in 1952. Located just west of Tucson, Arizona, it features two miles (3.2 km) of walking path ...
lies just south of the Tucson Mountain District along North Kinney Road in Tucson Mountain County Park. The non-profit organization, operating on rented from Pima County, combines aspects of a
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
, zoo, and
natural history museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
featuring the plants and animals native to the region.
Rincon Mountain District
![Rincon Mountain District map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Rincon_Mountain_District_map.png)
The Rincon Mountain District features the Cactus Forest Loop Drive, which provides access to some of the trails.
Angling across the Rincon Mountain District from southwest to northeast is a segment of the
Arizona Trail
The Arizona National Scenic Trail is a National Scenic Trail from Mexico to Utah that traverses the whole north–south length of the U.S. state of Arizona. The trail begins at the Coronado National Memorial near the US–Mexico border and moves ...
.
The trail crosses Arizona from its border with
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
on the south to its border with
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
on the north. In 2009, Congress named it a
National Scenic Trail
The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...
.
Horseback riding is allowed on some of the trails.
Livestock—defined by the NPS as horses, mules, or
burro
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
s—must carry their own food and are not allowed to graze in the park.
Bicycling is allowed on the Cactus Forest Loop Drive and two park trails.
Manning Camp Campground is the main staging area for firefighters, trail-maintenance crews, and scientists working in the Rincon Mountain District. Their supplies are brought in by pack
mules that are kept in corrals at the site.
Runoff from a nearby spring, the largest in Rincons, provides water for the livestock.
On a plot adjacent to the Rincon Mountain District along Broadway, the Desert Research Learning Center (DRLC) supports scientific and educational projects related to a network of Sonoran Desert parks, including Saguaro National Park. The DRLC grounds, which include desert plants, an artificial tinaja, and a rainwater collection system, are open to the public. The Sonoran Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network of which the DRLC is part, covers 10 national monuments or parks in Arizona and 1 in New Mexico.
See also
*
Ironwood Forest National Monument
Ironwood Forest National Monument is located in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. Created by Bill Clinton by Presidential Proclamation 7320 on June 9, 2000, the monument is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the United State ...
*
List of areas in the United States National Park System
The National Park System of the United States is the collection of physical properties owned or administered by the National Park Service. The collection includes all national parks and most national monuments, as well as several other types of ...
*
Tohono O'odham Nation
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
External links
* of th
National Park ServiceFriends of Saguaro National ParkSky Island Alliance
{{Authority control
1994 establishments in Arizona
Geography of Tucson, Arizona
National parks in Arizona
Parks in Pima County, Arizona
Protected areas established in 1994
Sonoran Desert
Tucson metropolitan area
Tourist attractions in Tucson, Arizona
Buildings and structures in Pima County, Arizona
Petroglyphs in Arizona
Hohokam rock art sites