Saguaro National Park
The saguaro (suh-waa-row) cactus is the enduring symbols of the West with its arms reaching towards the blue sky. Following the capture of Geronimo to the U.S. military in 1886, people began settling in the Tucson Valley and threatening the saguaro. By the 1920s, the destruction of the saguaro forests by animal grazing and human development put the future of the saguaro at risk. Fearing the destruction of the southwest’s saguaro forests, local residents led by Homer Shantz, president of the University of Arizona, began to lobby the federal government to protect the giant saguaros for generations to come.
In 1933, President Herbert Hoover established Saguaro National Monument in the empty desert on the outskirts of Tucson. Over the decades since, land was added to the national monument and in 1994 it became Saguaro National Park. There are two distinct areas to Saguaro National Park which are separated by the city of Tucson. The Rincon Mountain District (east of Tucson) is 67,476 acres that sits at a higher elevation and has an older saguaro forest. There is an eight-mile auto loop that allows you to drive through the forest and stop to take photos or go for a hike. The Tucson Mountain District (west of Tucson) is 25,391 acres of a younger saguaro forest at a higher density.
The scientific name for the saguaro cactus is Carnegiea gigantea, in honor of Andrew Carnegie. They only grow in the Sonoran Desert, but only in specific parts where the temperature and rainfall are optimal for them to survive. The saguaro doesn’t tolerate freezing temperatures very well so when they grow up to an elevation of 5.000 feet it tends to be on the warmer south facing slopes. The home range for the saguaro is from central Arizona down to Sonora, Mexico.
Saguaro National Park is the most diverse natural cactus garden in the United States. There are a total of 25 different cactus species that grow in this part of the Sonoran Desert. Saguaros are a very slow growing cactus and typically grow between 1 and 1.5 inches in the first eight years of their life. They can live for as long as 150 years and grow to a typical height of 40 feet. The tallest saguaro ever recorded was 78 feet tall when it fell down in 1986. Saguaros can develop as many as 25 arms, but some never develop the characteristic upward arms. In late April through June, the saguaro forest is full of color when the cactus develops white flowers. These vibrant blossoms are the state wildflower of Arizona.
A wide variety of animals depend on the saguaro to survive. The gilded flicker and Gila woodpecker excavate nest cavities inside the saguaro’s pulpy flesh. When a woodpecker abandons a cavity, elf owls, screech owls, purple martins, finches and sparrows may move in. Large birds, like the red-tailed hawks, also use the saguaro for nesting and hunting platforms. Saguaro cacti also provide a valuable source of food for many animals. In mid-summer, ripening fruit provides moisture and an energy-rich food during a time of scarcity. In drier areas of the Sonoran Desert, pack rats, jackrabbits, mule deer and bighorn sheep will also eat the saguaro’s flesh when other food and water sources are not available.
