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Saguaro National Park (p. 3)
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Mountains of the East Section
One of the distinctive features of the eastern section of the park is the Rincon Mountain Range. In addition to providing a scenic backdrop to the desert, these mountains are high enough to provide a number of different ecosystems at different altitudes. Conifer forest, which would seem pretty unlikely while standing on the desert floor, exists at altitudes above 6,000 feet in the Rincon Mountains. Oak woodland is found at altitudes above 4000 feet.
The picture below shows a close-up of Tanque Verde peak which is visible from Cactus Forest Drive. This mountain peak is 7,049 feet high. This view gives a good illustration of the kind of vegetation change which accompanies the altitude gain in this section of the park. At these altitude the temperature might be 30 degrees colder than on the valley floor. This could easily be a view of a foothill of the Rockies in Colorado or further north.
These mountains were created by uplift about 20 million years ago. The front range of the Rincons is known as Tanque Verde Ridge, seen below from Cactus Forest Drive.
The Rincon Mountains surround two sides of the mostly flat portion of the eastern section of the park. The northern part of the park adjoins the Coronado National Forest.
As the land begins to rise the plant life changes and the saguaro can no longer be found.
The view on the left is from near the highest section of Cactus Forest Drive, looking east. The highest mountain in the park is Mica Mountain (on the right), located in the extreme northeast section of the park. It's 8,666 feet.
The lower sections of the hills are extremely rocky and surround the desert vegetation in the flatlands.
Another view of the mountains from Cactus Forest Drive is shown below.
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- All photographs ©Patrick Holleran, Shannon Technologies, 1994-2008
- Commercial use of the images contained in this document without express written consent is strictly prohibited.
- Comments and other remarks can be sent via e-mail to parkvision@shannontech.com
