Oracle State Park is a state park of

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 ...

, US, preserving in the northeastern foothills of the

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, w ...

. The park is named after the nearby town of Oracle. Oracle State Park serves as a

wildlife refuge A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, and is open during the winter from 9am – 5pm, and during the summer from 8am - 4pm. In October 2011 Arizona State Parks agreed to reopen Oracle on a limited basis with a $40,000 budget if the park's Friends group can raise $21,000 in additional funds. The park has more than of hiking trails, including 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 ...

History

Starting in 1902, the area that is now the park was owned and operated as a cattle ranch by Neal Kannally and his family. At its largest, the ranch encompassed 50,000 acres, most of which was eventually sold off to mining companies. The remaining property was occupied until Neal's last remaining sibling, Lucile, bequeathed it to the

Defenders of Wildlife Defenders of Wildlife is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization based in the United States. It works to protect all native animals and plants throughout North America in their natural communities. Background Defenders of Wildlife is a n ...

organization in 1976, and ten years later, the land was donated to the state of Arizona to create a wildlife refuge. In 2014, the International Dark-Sky Association designated Oracle State Park as a Dark Sky Park."Arizona’s Oracle State Park Named World’s Twentieth International Dark Sky Park"
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Flora and fauna

Plants

The most common plants in Oracle State Park are prickly pear and

cholla cactus ''Cylindropuntia'' is a genus of cacti (family Cactaceae), containing species commonly known as chollas, native to northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. They are known for their barbed spines that tenaciously attach to skin, fur, ...

scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to: *the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species. In California *California scrub oak ('' Quercus berberidifolia''), a wides ...

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...

, many wildflowers, and the occasional piñon and juniper. A solitary

saguaro cactus 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 Mountains ...

is located in the park. The original ranch house, which was converted to be the park headquarters, has some cypress trees nearby.

Wildlife

Bird species include

red-tailed hawks The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

prairie falcon The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&n ...

black-throated sparrow The black-throated sparrow (''Amphispiza bilineata'') is a small New World sparrow primarily found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is the only member of the genus ''Amphispiza''; the five-striped sparrow, formerly also classifie ...

Gambel's quail Gambel's quail (''Callipepla gambelii'') is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It inhabits the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Sonora; also New Mexico-border Chihuahu ...

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, pyrrhuloxia,

northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe ...

s, northern flickers,

common poorwill The common poorwill (''Phalaenoptilus nuttallii'') is a nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae, the nightjars. It is found from British Columbia and southeastern Alberta, through the western United States to northern Mexico. The bird's habi ...

s, northern cardinals, and

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. Many

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

inhabit the park, such as ringtails, javalinas, cougars,

rock squirrel The rock squirrel (''Otospermophilus variegatus'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae and is native to Mexico and the Southwestern United States, including southern Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas, and the panha ...

desert cottontail The desert cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii''), also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae. Unlike the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus''), they do not form social burrow s ...

black-tailed jackrabbits The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Reptiles and amphibians found in the area include the western box turtles, Arizona alligator lizards,

Colorado River toad The Colorado River toad (''Incilius alvarius''), formerly known as the Sonoran Desert toad, is found in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It exudes toxins from glands within its skin that have psychoactive properties. Descript ...

s, bull snakes, and western diamondback rattlesnakes.

Kannally Ranch House

The Kannally Ranch House is a historic house museum with original art and historic photos. The four-level adobe home was constructed between 1929 and 1933, features

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

and Moorish architectural influences and is listed on 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 ...

. The ranch house is open for self guided tours during park hours.

Center for Environmental Education

The purpose of the park is to "protect the designated wildlife refuge and act as an environmental learning center." Before closure the park offered natural history and

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

programs for school and adult groups, including trail walks, workshops, presentations and special events.

References

External links

Oracle State Park

Friends of Oracle State Park

An entry by the International Dark-Sky Association
{{authority control 1976 establishments in Arizona Historic house museums in Arizona Museums in Pinal County, Arizona Parks in Pinal County, Arizona Protected areas established in 1976 Santa Catalina Mountains State parks of Arizona Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Pinal County, Arizona