Saguaro N P

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Saguaro National Park

 

 

Saguaro National Park, located in the state of Arizona, is part of the United States national park system.

 

saguaro cactus

Saguaro National Park is divided into two sections, lying approximately 20 miles (32 km) east and 15 miles (24 km) west of the center of the city of Tucson, Arizona. Total area in 2002 was 143 square miles (91,327 acres) (370 kmē) of which 111 square miles (289 kmē) is designated wilderness. There is a visitor center in each section. Both are easily reached by car from Tucson, but there is no public transport into either section. Both sections conserve fine tracts of the Sonoran Desert, including ranges of significant hills, the Tucson Mountains in the west and the Rincon Mountains in the east. The park gets its name from the saguaro cactus which is native to the region. Many other kinds of cactus, including barrel cactus, cholla cactus, and prickly pear, are also abundant in the park. One endangered species of animals lives in the park part of the year during its migration the Lesser Long-nosed Bat. And one threatened species the Mexican Spotted Owl.

 

Ocotillo

The park was established as Saguaro National Monument on March 1, 1933 and changed to a national park on October 14, 1994.

 


Facilities in the park include 150 miles (240 km) of well marked and maintained hiking trails, and shorter walking trails with interpretative information available. Hiking is not advisable during the hot summer months.

 

prickly pear


The Rincon Mountain District is located at the eastern edge of Tucson, Arizona; the east side of the park was the original National Monument. What is unique about this park is that it starts off in the Sonoran Desert and gradually gives way to the High Alpine Forest of the Rincon Mountains. The highest peak in this range is Mica Mountain, at an elevation of 8,666 feet (2641 m). While this side of the park has fewer Saguaros than its counterpart they remain larger in size, due to higher amounts of rainfall and run off from the Rincon Mountains.

Text from Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

barrel cactus

 

 

 

 

 

cholla cactus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ocotillo

 

 

 

 

Apaches Bisbee Casa Grande Chiricahua Coronado Memorial Fort Apache Fort Bowie Fort Huachuca Fort Verde Frank Lloyd Wright Four Corners Hoover Dam Grand Canyon Jerome Kinishba Ruins Meteor Crater Montezuma Castle Navajo Country Navajo Trading Post Navajo N M Nogales North Rim Organ Pipe Organ Pipe Cactus Page Painted Desert Petrified Forest Phoenix Saguaro N P San Xavier Sedona Tombstone Tubac Tucson Tumacacori Tuzigoot

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