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The Emerald Desert, Take 2, Part 3: Island Oasis in the Sky


Silas_Sancona

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Some views from the trip to Madera Canyon..

As mentioned in the Plant related threads, Madera Canyon sits in one of the Sky High, desert " Islands " which bridge the divide between southern rim of the Colorado Plateau, Mountains of far eastern Arizona / Gila Mountains of south central New Mexico, and the Sierra Madre Occidental / Mexican Plateau, providing a place of refuge for plants and animals which could not survive life in the deserts below. These islands are also where one will find creatures which either reach their northern limit, or may be exploring new territory north of where they might occur in northern Mexico.

Madera Canyon is a world renowned, crown jewel for birdwatchers from every corner of the globe, and is also an international hotspot for insect and herpetological research.

Because of it's unique position and layout, Madera Canyon and the section of the Santa Ritas which Madera canyon sits in often receives more rainfall than surrounding areas, especially during the summer Monsoon season. Framed by two peaks that reach above 8,500ft on either side, storms are often initiated almost daily and the mountains, easily seen from most of Tucson, are one of the first places you'd look to get an idea on how storm activity might develop through the rest of a given day.  While the mountain ranges that frame the eastern side of Tucson are also early day focus points for storm activity, Mt. Wrightson, the tallest peak in the Santa Rita Mountains, reaches higher than either Mt. Lemmon in the Catalinas, or Mica Mtn. & Rincon Peak, in the Rincon Mountains providing an especially ideal location for wringing out moisture that rises up and over the surrounding terrain below. Mt. Hopkins, which sits on the west side of the canyon provides another excellent focus point.  The higher amounts of rainfall here helps the canyon and surrounding mountains to stay greener longer through the hottest portion of the year.

While home to a number of sub tropical plant and animal species, portions of the canyon and surrounding mountains can see snowfall.

With the north side of the canyon being bowl-shaped, and a 7,000ft tall east to west saddle that separates the canyon from the wilderness section of Madera canyon on the south side of the saddle, rainfall from storms that may form over the canyon is focused through Madera creek and out into the desert at the mouth of the canyon. Over tens of thousands of years, eroded material brought down from the mountains formed a fan-like terrace that defines the wide plains that one drives through to reach the canyon from the desert to the west and north.  The alluvial plain that was created is so large that it is easily visible on terrain maps, and from space.

Above the plains, terrain becomes sets of rolling hills set below a ridge line of  tall, steep-sided peaks on the eastern rim, and mix of steep-sided peaks and more mound-like hills on the western side of the canyon. The interior of Madera Canyon itself is gradually ascending, closely following the path carved out by Madera Creek. The road between where you enter the canyon, and where it ends has very few steep inclines and the elevation gain or loss while traveling it isn't easily noticed.

The main give away of climbing in elevation is the vegetation changes you see..  Mesquite, shorter Juniper, and Oak as you enter the canyon from the wide, rolling Mesquite Savannah below, to  a mix of mid- elevation Oaks, taller Juniper and Pine that surround the picnic area near the end of the road at the top.

While there was plenty of things observed, there is much more to see here. Regardless, a great place to visit and take in views of a unique habitat exclusive to southern Arizona and the Southwestern corner of New Mexico.

Much more information can be found regarding these incredible " Desert Oasis " here:
https://skyislandalliance.org/the-sky-islands/


Views as you approach

Madera Canyon and western face of the northern " arm" of the Santa Rita Mountains from Green Valley.


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Views of the canyon and surrounding mountains

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Mt. Wrightson on the left..
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Looking west across Green Valley towards the Baboquivari Mountains and Kitt Peak.

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Views of Elephant Head, located near the northwestern edge of the section of the Santa Ritas where Madera Canyon sits.

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Mt Hopkins and the Whipple Observatory.

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Mt Wrightson, left of center, Madera Canyon, center, Mt. Hopkins, peak directly above the center of the road.

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View looking northwest over Green Valley from the Proctor Trailhead parking lot

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...looking north over the Tucson Valley, toward the Catalinas and Mt. Lemmon.  Foot of the Rincons ( likely part of Saguaro National Park -East- ) in view on the far right.

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>>>>>>

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Continuing on...

Some info.. Love that they laid out the information in Spanish as well..


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Various views along the way up the Canyon:

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Wandering through upper elevation woodlands that are strangely familiar, ..Replace the tall Alligator Junipers w/ Redwoods, and native oaks here with California Bay / Tan Oak and some of these views could be from a canyon hiked somewhere up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Other views mirror similar scenery in parts of Henry Coe State Park, southeast of San Jose,  ..Along some smaller side canyon that feeds into the Big Sur River along the Central CA. Coast,  or up in the Sierra Foothills / mountains in different parts of Southern Cal. ...

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Two decent examples of the plant make up in Madrean Woodlands. There are numerous Cacti sp. hidden out here as well but finding them will wait until the next visit.

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>>>>>>>

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Perhaps the best part of the trip, Madera Creek itself.. 

While plentiful shade / higher altitude helps keep temperatures lower than down in the deserts,  it is water that makes these desert islands the Oasis they are. Water is the foundation for all life, especially in hot arid places like the Southwest. 


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As for Madera Creek itself, while considered intermittent, the creek almost always has water in it somewhere along it's course.  Though it may look rather tame, remember that this mild-mannered stream is what formed the massive Alluvial Plain one travels up through to get to the canyon.  Considering how active of a Monsoon Season it has been in Southern AZ this summer, the creek wasn't flowing quite as much as i'd thought.  Regardless, still plenty of water moving along most of it's course to provide plenty to take in. Wading through cold crystal clear water to get some shots on a warm day in the desert is always enjoyable as well.

Reflections on the lifeblood of our Emerald Deserts and Island Oasis.


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A somewhat infamous waterfall..  I say somewhat because its a destination everyone wants to see on a visit, yet isn't the easiest spot in the canyon to get to ( or at least the route i took, lol ).  Pretty sweet regardless.

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1 hour ago, Butch said:

Great pics of a beautiful area... I really liked the creek shots.. Thanks for posting...

Butch

The creek was definitely a highlight..  It rained pretty good a day or two out there before i made the trip and was surprised the creek wasn't running a little higher.

  There's another waterfall somewhere on the southeast side of Mt. Wrightson but was told it isn't easy to access ( not including having to hike over some seriously steep terrain just to get to the general area where it is located )

There's another waterfall /series of falls closer to Tucson i'm hoping on getting out to next summer, if it rains enough.

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