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88-626: Saguaro National Park is a national park of the United States in southeastern Arizona . The 92,000-acre (37,000 ha) park consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain District (TMD), about 10 miles (16 km) west of Tucson , and the Rincon Mountain District (RMD), about 10 miles (16 km) east of the city. Both districts preserve Sonoran Desert landscapes, fauna, and flora, including

176-494: A Parkinsonia / Cactus ( 43 ) vegetation type with a Deserts and xeric shrublands (8) vegetation form, a Creosote bush scrub / Ragweed ( 42 ) vegetation type with a Deserts and xeric shrublands ( 8 ) vegetation form, a Bouteloua / Pleuraphis mutica Steppe ( 58 ) vegetation type with a Desert Steppe ( 14 ) vegetation form, and an Oak / Juniper Woodland ( 31 ) vegetation type with a Great Basin montane forests /Southwest Forest (4) vegetation form. Plant communities within

264-400: A caldera 12 miles (19 km) across. The caldera was eventually filled by debris flows, the intrusion of a granitic pluton , 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 exposed at Grants Pass and a granitic remnant of the magma chamber , which

352-475: A destination, and hunting and extractive activities are prohibited. National monuments , on the other hand, are also frequently protected for their historical or archaeological significance. Eight national parks (including six in Alaska ) are paired with a national preserve , areas with different levels of protection that are administered together but considered separate units and whose areas are not included in

440-533: A large cactus 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 for corner and refers to the shape of the mountain range and its footprint. The name Tucson derives from Papago-Piman words cuk ṣon [ˡtʃukʂɔn] , meaning dark spring or brown spring . Tank or Tanque refers to

528-526: A more regular bi-seasonal pattern. According to the Köppen climate classification system, the majority of the Sonoran Desert has a hot desert climate ( BWh ). Hot semi-arid climate ( BSh ) exists on some of the higher elevation mountains within the desert, as well as in a continuous swath on the eastern and northeastern fringes as elevations gradually rise toward the Madrean Sky Islands in

616-576: 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 and a former United States Postmaster General who was influential in the Republican Party , persuaded U.S. President Herbert Hoover to create Saguaro National Monument. Hoover used his power under

704-474: A population close to 900,000. Ciudad Obregón, Sonora , in the southern part of the desert, has a population of 375,800. The Coachella Valley , located in the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert, has a population of 365,000. Several famous Southern California desert resort cities such as Palm Springs and Palm Desert are located here. During the winter months, from November to April,

792-741: 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 one in New Mexico. List of national parks of the United States The United States has 63 national parks , which are congressionally designated protected areas operated by the National Park Service , an agency of

880-542: A significant fire hazard. The noxious weed , 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 -based herbicides. 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

968-499: A small artificial pool behind a dam that traps runoff in an existing natural depression. Madrean derives from Madre in Sierra Madre (Mother Mountains). The park consists of two separate parcels, the Tucson Mountain District (TMD) to the west of Tucson, Arizona , and the Rincon Mountain District (RMD) to the east. Each parcel comes within about 10 miles (16 km) of the center of the city. Their total combined area in 2016

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1056-654: A total population of over 180,000 and has a similar climate to that of the Coachella Valley. Other cities include Borrego Springs , Indio , Coachella , Calexico , El Centro , Imperial , and Blythe . Straddling the Mexico–United States border , the Sonoran desert is an important migration corridor for humans and animals. The harsh climate conditions and border militarism mean that the journey can be perilous, usually moving at night to minimize exposure to

1144-525: 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. The Rincons and the nearby Santa Catalinas (but not the shorter Tucson Mountains) are among about 40 mountain ranges known as

1232-540: Is Gateway Arch National Park , Missouri , at 192.83 acres (0.7804 km ). The total area protected by national parks is approximately 52.4 million acres (212,000 km ), for an average of 833 thousand acres (3,370 km ) but a median of only 220 thousand acres (890 km ). The national parks set a visitation record in 2021, with more than 92 million visitors. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee has been

1320-615: Is Puerto Peñasco ('Rocky Point') in the state of Sonora, Mexico . Sonoran Desert sub-regions include: The Sonoran desert has an arid subtropical climate and is considered to be the most tropical desert in North America . In the lower-elevation portions of the desert, temperatures are warm year-round, and rainfall is infrequent and irregular, often less than 90 mm (approx. 3.5") annually. The Arizona uplands are also warm year-round, but they receive 100–300 mm (approx. 4–12") of average annual rainfall, which falls in

1408-429: Is buffelgrass . 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

1496-584: Is allowed on some of the trails. Livestock—defined by the NPS as horses, mules, or burros —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

1584-590: Is home to the cultures of over 17 contemporary Native American tribes, with settlements at American Indian reservations in California and Arizona , as well as populations in Mexico. The largest city in the Sonoran Desert is Phoenix, Arizona , with a 2017 metropolitan population of about 4.7 million. Located on the Salt River in central Arizona, it is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in

1672-732: 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 in

1760-801: 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 (CCC) built the monument's Cactus Forest Loop Drive and related infrastructure. The monument's visitor center opened in

1848-650: The Baja California desert . Within the southern Sonoran Desert in Mexico is found the Gran Desierto de Altar , with the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve , encompassing 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi) of desert and mountainous regions. The biosphere reserve includes the only active erg dune region in North America. The nearest city to the biosphere reserve

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1936-586: The Department of the Interior . National parks are designated for their natural beauty, unique geological features, diverse ecosystems, and recreational opportunities, typically "because of some outstanding scenic feature or natural phenomena." While legislatively all units of the National Park System are considered equal with the same mission, national parks are generally larger and more of

2024-712: The Great Basin , Mojave , and Chihuahuan deserts ) because it provides subtropical warmth in winter and two seasons of rainfall (in contrast, for example, to the Mojave's dry summers and cold winters). This creates an extreme contrast between aridity and moisture. The Sonoran desert wraps around the northern end of the Gulf of California , from Baja California Sur ( El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve in central and Pacific west coast, Central Gulf Coast subregion on east to southern tip), north through much of Baja California , excluding

2112-597: The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge . The Sonoran Desert is home to a wide variety of fauna that have adapted and thrive in the hot, arid desert environment, such as the Gila monster , bobcat , mule deer , antelope jackrabbit , burrowing owl , greater roadrunner , western diamondback rattlesnake , and elf owl . There are 350 bird species, 20 amphibian species, over 100 reptile species, 30 native fish species, and over 1000 native bee species found in

2200-813: The Madrean Sky Islands that are of special interest to biologists. These ranges resemble a series of stepping stones between the southern end of the Rocky Mountains —specifically the Mogollon Rim of the Colorado Plateau —in the United States and the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico. The continental "islands" are separated from one another by "seas" of lower-elevation valleys that impede but do not completely block species migration from one sky island to another. Ecologist Peter Warshall lists several characteristics that make

2288-592: The Mexican spotted owl . The park's 36 reptile species include desert tortoises , 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 species inhabit the park: the canyon tree frog , the lowland leopard frog , 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

2376-555: The Sonoran Desert , including ranges of significant hills, the Tucson Mountains in the west and the Rincon Mountains in the east. Elevations in the Tucson Mountain District range from 2,180 to 4,687 feet (664 to 1,429 m), the summit of Wasson Peak. Elevations within the Rincon Mountain District vary from 2,670 to 8,666 feet (814 to 2,641 m) at the summit of Mica Mountain . Saguaro National Park lies within

2464-685: The United States Department of Agriculture , the Plant Hardiness zone at Red Hills Visitor Center 2,553 feet (778 m) is 9b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 25.8 °F (−3.4 °C), and 9a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 23.4 °F (−4.8 °C) at Rincon Mountain Visitor Center 3,091 feet (942 m). Brief violent summer rains are usually accompanied by lightning, dust storms and flash floods . Some moisture at

2552-602: The territories of American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands . The state with the most national parks is California with nine, followed by Alaska with eight, Utah with five, and Colorado with four. The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska: at over 8 million acres (32,375 km ), it is larger than each of the nine smallest states . The next three largest parks are also in Alaska. The smallest park

2640-612: The 1950s. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy —encouraged by Stewart Udall , an Arizonan who was then Secretary of the Interior —added 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) 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 . In the 1920s, the Tucson Game Protective Association had persuaded the Department of

2728-532: The 5-mile (8 km) 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

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2816-474: The 8.3-mile (13.4 km) 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 800-mile (1,300 km) trail crosses Arizona from its border with Mexico on the south to its border with Utah on the north. In 2009, Congress named it a National Scenic Trail . Horseback riding

2904-556: 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

2992-591: The Cactus Forest Trail and one along the Ruiz Trail. About 80 million years ago tectonic plate movements induced a period of mountain building, the Laramide orogeny , 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

3080-496: The Interior to withdraw about 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) 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

3168-459: 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 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 of its terrain, and its safe distance from the mass extinctions related to the northern glaciers of

3256-501: The Mile Wide Mine), yielded 34,000 tons of copper, gold, lead, zinc, and molybdenum 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

3344-471: The National Park Service "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Many current national parks had been previously protected as national monuments by the president under the Antiquities Act or as other designations created by Congress before being redesignated by Congress;

3432-471: 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 tinajas in the Rincon Mountain District. The largest of the springs is at Manning Camp, high in the Rincons. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Saguaro National Park has a Hot semi-arid climate ( BSh ). According to

3520-499: The Sonoran Desert , Forrest Shreve divided the Sonoran Desert into seven regions according to characteristic vegetation: Lower Colorado Valley, Arizona Upland, Plains of Sonora, Foothills of Sonora, Central Gulf Coast, Vizcaíno Region, and Magdalena Region. Many ecologists consider Shreve's Vizcaíno and Magdalena regions, which lie on the western side of the Baja California Peninsula , to be a separate ecoregion ,

3608-541: The Sonoran Desert is within the Sonoran floristic province of the Madrean Region of southwestern North America, part of the Holarctic realm of the northern Western Hemisphere . The desert contains a variety of unique endemic plants and animals , notably, the saguaro ( Carnegiea gigantea ) and organ pipe cactus ( Stenocereus thurberi ). The Sonoran Desert is clearly distinct from nearby deserts (e.g.,

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3696-561: The Sonoran desert on the Gulf of California slope of the Baja California Peninsula. To the north in California and northwest Arizona, the Sonoran Desert transitions to the colder-winter, higher-elevation Mojave , Great Basin , and Colorado Plateau deserts. The coniferous Arizona Mountains forests are to the northeast. The Chihuahuan Desert and Sierra Madre Occidental pine–oak forests are at higher elevations to

3784-582: The Sonoran. The Sonoran Desert area southeast of Tucson and near the Mexican border is vital habitat for the only population of jaguars living within the United States. The Colorado River Delta was once an ecological hotspot within the Sonoran desert due to the Colorado river in this otherwise dry area, but the delta has been greatly reduced in extent due to damming and use of the river upstream. Species that have higher heat tolerance are able to thrive in

3872-404: The Tucson Mountain District and 29 in the Rincon Mountain District. A partial list of the park's mammals includes cougars , coyotes , bobcats , white-tailed deer , mule deer , javelinas , gray foxes , black-tailed jackrabbits , desert cottontails , ring-tailed cats , white-nosed coatis , ground squirrels , and packrats . One endangered mammal, the lesser long-nosed bat , lives part of

3960-411: 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

4048-569: 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. The earliest known residents of the land in and around what later became Saguaro National Park were the Hohokam , who lived there in villages between AD 200 and 1450. Petroglyphs and bits of broken pottery are among Hohokam artifacts found in

4136-612: The Tucson Mountains. The Rincons, as one of the Madrean Sky Islands between the southern Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Madre Oriental in Mexico, support high biodiversity 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 , Sobaipuri , Tohono O'odham , Apaches , Spanish explorers, missionaries, miners, homesteaders , and ranchers. In 1933, President Herbert Hoover used

4224-484: The United States. In 2007 in the Phoenix area, desert was losing ground to urban sprawl at a rate of approximately 4,000 square meters (1 acre) per hour. The next largest cities are Tucson , in southern Arizona, with a metro area population of just over 1 million, and Mexicali, Baja California , with a similarly sized metropolitan population of around 1,000,000. The metropolitan area of Hermosillo, Sonora , has

4312-463: 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 , began to form about 30 million years ago about 6 to 8 miles (10 to 13 km) below the surface of the Tucson Mountains. The rocks under

4400-491: The area. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum lies just south of the Tucson Mountain District along North Kinney Road in Tucson Mountain County Park. The non-profit organization, operating on 98 acres (40 ha) rented from Pima County, combines aspects of a botanical garden , zoo, and natural history museum featuring the plants and animals native to the region. The Rincon Mountain District features

4488-647: The central northwest mountains and Pacific west coast, through southeastern California and southwestern and southern Arizona to western and central parts of Sonora . It is bounded on the west by the Peninsular Ranges , which separate it from the California chaparral and woodlands (northwest) and Baja California desert (Vizcaíno subregion, central and southeast) ecoregions of the Pacific slope. The Gulf of California xeric scrub ecoregion lies south of

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4576-421: The conditions of the Sonoran Desert. One such insect species that has evolved a means to thrive in this environment is Drosophila mettleri , a Sonoran Desert fly. This fly contains a specialized P450 detoxification system that enables it to nest in the cool region of exudate moistened soil. Thus, the fly is one of few that can tolerate the high desert temperatures and successfully reproduce. The Sonoran Desert

4664-402: The contemporary Basin and Range Province , of which the park is a part, by about 1.7 billion years. The schist 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 granites , form much of Tanque Verde Ridge in the Rincon Mountain District. Much later, about 600 million years ago, shallow seas covered

4752-441: The daytime temperatures in the Coachella Valley range from 70 °F (21 °C) to 90 °F (32 °C) and corresponding nighttime lows range from 46 °F (8 °C) to 68 °F (20 °C) making it a popular winter resort destination. Due to its warm year-round climate citrus and subtropical fruits such as mangoes, figs, and dates are grown in the Coachella Valley and adjacent Imperial Valley . The Imperial Valley has

4840-521: The desert subdivisions found on Baja California, cardon cactus, elephant tree, and boojum tree occur. The California fan palm ( Washingtonia filifera ) is found in the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert, the only native palm in California, among many other introduced Arecaceae genera and species. It is found at spring -fed oases , such as in Anza Borrego Desert State Park , Joshua Tree National Park , and

4928-484: The east and the Mogollon Rim in the northeast. There are also a few small areas of cold semi-arid climate ( BSk ) and even hot-summer Mediterranean climate ("Csa") on only the highest mountain peaks within the region. Many plants not only survive, but thrive in the harsh conditions of the Sonoran Desert. Many have evolved specialized adaptations to the desert climate. The Sonoran Desert's bi-seasonal rainfall pattern results in more plant species than any other desert in

5016-599: The east. To the south the Sonoran–Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest is the transition zone from the Sonoran Desert to the tropical dry forests of the Mexican state of Sinaloa . The desert's sub-regions include the Colorado Desert of southeastern California; and the Yuma Desert east of the north-to-south section of the Colorado River in southwest Arizona. In the 1957 publication Vegetation of

5104-492: The fault, the lower-plate rocks, were eventually displaced 16 to 22 miles (26 to 35 km) 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 ) from beneath

5192-481: The figures below. The 431 units of the National Park System can be broadly referred to as national parks, but most have other formal designations. A bill creating the first national park, Yellowstone , was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, followed by Mackinac National Park in 1875 (decommissioned in 1895), and then Rock Creek Park (later merged into National Capital Parks ), Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. The Organic Act of 1916 created

5280-417: 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

5368-456: The giant saguaro 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 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

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5456-408: 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 on the park show that its annual mean temperature rose about 4 °F (2 C) from 1900 to 2010. Climate data below is from 2019: Saguaro National Park's oldest rocks, the Pinal Schist, predate the formation of

5544-429: The leopard frog's breeding pools, which fill with sediment. The Arizona Game and Fish Department lists the lowland leopard frog as a species of special concern. Urban sprawl , air and water pollution, noise, light pollution , 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 vertebrates

5632-462: The mid-19th century, after Arizona had become part of the United States. After passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 , the arrival of the railroad in 1880, and the end of the Apache Wars in 1886, homesteaders 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

5720-435: The most recent Ice Age . Influenced by these and other conditions, the Madrean Sky Islands support unusual biodiversity . 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 165 miles (266 km) of hiking trails wind through

5808-530: The most-visited park since 1944, and had almost 13 million visitors in 2022. In contrast, only about 9,500 people visited the remote Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska in 2022. Download coordinates as: The following table includes the 30 states and two territories that have national parks. Exclusive parks refer to parks entirely within one state or territory. Shared parks refer to parks in multiple states. Territories are set in italics . Sonoran Desert In phytogeography ,

5896-472: The newest national park is New River Gorge , previously a National River, and the most recent entirely new park is National Park of American Samoa . A few former national parks are no longer designated as such , or have been disbanded. Fourteen national parks are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS), and 21 national parks are named UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BR), with eight national parks in both programs. Thirty states have national parks, as do

5984-402: 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 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

6072-409: The park include hiking on its 165 miles (266 km) 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. The park gets its name from the saguaro ( Carnegiea gigantea ),

6160-402: 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 . Invasive plants include fountain grass , tamarisk , Malta starthistle , and many others, but by far the most severe threat to the native ecosystem

6248-794: 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 — Douglas-fir , Ponderosa pine , white fir , Gambel oak , and many other trees, shrubs, and understory plants. During annual inventories in 2011 and 2013, hundreds of scientists and thousands of volunteers identified 389 species of vascular plants , 25 of non-vascular plants , and 197 species of fungi in Saguaro National Park. Saguaros, which flourish in both districts of

6336-455: 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 60 feet (18 m) tall and weigh up to 4,800 pounds (2,200 kg) when fully hydrated. The total number of saguaros in

6424-423: 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. The Tucson Mountain District has 12 miles (19 km) of paved roads and 8.5 miles (13.7 km) of unpaved roads, including

6512-646: 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 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

6600-426: The power of the Antiquities Act 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. The United States Congress combined the Tucson Mountain District and the Rincon Mountain District to form the national park in 1994. Popular activities in

6688-444: The region around present-day Tucson; over time that led to deposition of sedimentary rocks — limestones , sandstones , and shales . 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 kilns , 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

6776-479: 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 , a military fort in what was then part of New Spain , in part to protect against raids by Apaches . The lands that eventually would become Saguaro National Park remained relatively free of development until

6864-517: The site. Runoff from a nearby spring, the largest in the Rincons, provides water for the livestock. On a 40-acre (16 ha) 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

6952-674: The south side of the Tucson Mountain District, and to its west lies the Avra Valley . The Rincon Mountain Wilderness, a separate protected area of about 37,000 acres (15,000 ha) in the Coronado National Forest , 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

7040-401: The species and seasonal temperatures. Creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ) and bur sage ( Ambrosia dumosa ) dominate valley floors. Indigo bush ( Psorothamnus fremontii ) and Mormon tea are other shrubs that may be found. Wildflowers of the Sonoran Desert include desert sand verbena ( Abronia villosa ), desert sunflower ( Geraea canescens ), and evening primroses . Ascending from

7128-417: The total Tucson Mountain District area to 24,818 acres (10,043 ha). In 1994 Congress elevated the combined Tucson Mountain District and Rincon Mountain District to National Park status. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 added 1,232 acres (4.99 km) to the park. According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential natural vegetation Types, Saguaro National Park encompasses four classifications;

7216-457: The valley up bajadas , various subtrees such as velvet mesquite ( Prosopis velutina ), palo verde ( Parkinsonia florida ), desert ironwood ( Olneya tesota ), desert willow ( Chilopsis linearis ssp. arcuata ), and crucifixion thorn ( Canotia holacantha ) are common, as well as multi-stemmed ocotillo ( Fouquieria splendens ). Shrubs found at higher elevations include whitethorn acacia ( Acacia constricta ), fairy duster, and jojoba . In

7304-501: 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 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

7392-492: The wild. Cholla ( Cylindropuntia spp.), beavertail ( Opuntia basilaris ), hedgehog ( Echinocereus spp.), fishhook ( Ferocactus wislizeni ), prickly pear ( Opuntia spp.), nightblooming cereus ( Peniocereus spp.), and organ pipe ( Stenocereus thurberi ) are other taxa of cacti found here. Cacti provide food and homes to many desert mammals and birds, with showy flowers in reds, pinks, yellows, and whites, blooming most commonly from late March through June, depending on

7480-453: The world. The Sonoran Desert includes plant genera and species from the agave family, palm family, cactus family, legume family, and numerous others. Many of these adaptations occur in food crops. Mission Garden is a living agricultural museum that showcases foods that have been grown in the Sonoran Desert for over 4000 years. The Sonoran is the only place in the world where the famous saguaro cactus ( Carnegiea gigantea ) grows in

7568-476: 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 that are uncommon elsewhere in the United States, such as the vermilion flycatcher and the whiskered screech owl . Among the park's 107 bird species are great horned owls , cactus wrens , ravens , kestrels , turkey vultures , roadrunners , woodpeckers , hawks , quails , hummingbirds , and one threatened species,

7656-449: Was 91,716 acres (37,116 ha). The Tucson Mountain District covers about 25,000 acres (10,000 ha), while the much larger Rincon Mountain District accounts for the balance of about 67,000 acres (27,000 ha). About 71,000 acres (29,000 ha) of the park, including large fractions of both districts, is designated wilderness . Interstate 10 , the major highway nearest to the park, passes through Tucson. Tucson Mountain Park abuts

7744-614: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Cultural resources in the park include more than 450 archeological sites and more than 60 historic structures. In 1920 members of the Natural History Society of the University of Arizona expressed interest in establishing a protected area for saguaro, a cactus species familiar to watchers of silent-movie Westerns . In 1928 Homer L. Shantz ,

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