Arizonas Sonoran desert, the only place in the world that Saguaro cactus will grow.
There is no spectacle quite like that of the sun coming up on Arizona's Sonoran Desert as this is the only place in the world the saguaro cactus grows. The saguaro cactus is very prickly, and you don't want to get near enough to touch, and these cacti are also protected by the saguaro National Park and you sure don't want to attempt to dig one to bring back home. It won't grow anywhere else in the world. These giant cacti can grow to 50 feet tall and seen from a distance they can resemble tall creatures with their arms
and their height. If you are anywhere near the area of the Sonoran Desert you'll want to take the time to see these magnificent saguaro cacti.
This desert covers a very large area, approximately 120,000 square miles and takes in the western half of the state of Sonora, Mexico, as well as parts of southwestern Arizona, southeastern California, and Baja, California.
Tourists who come to Phoenix, Tucson or the area of Palm Springs are drawn to the Sonoran Desert.
Of all the deserts in North America, the Sonoran Desert is considered the hottest and yet there are freezes in the winter in parts sometimes in the winter months. Some parts of the land is alkaline and many trees grown such as the Cottonwood, lots of willows, Arizona Black Walnut and also Arizona Ash. There are also lots of species of animal life in this vast Sonoran Desert.
In the western part of the Sonoran Desert there is spring rainfall and also storms from the Pacific area bring about beautiful wildflowers.
The wildflowers include; Dune Evening Primrose, Fairy Duster, Filaree, Storksbill, Ghost Flower, Majave Aster, Popcorn Flower, Prickly Poppies, Sand Verbena, Showy four O'clock, Spanish Needles, Western Wallflower, Woolly Daisy and Yellow Beeplant. Be careful as some of these wildflowers can be very poisonous.
Many cacti can be found in the Soronan Desert such as; Barrel, Beavertail, Chain Fruit Cholla, Cholla, Claret Cup, Desert Christmas, Datil, Fishhook, Hedgehog, and the Mojave Yucca. Additional cacti that can be found in this desert are; Night-Bloomin Cereus, Organ Pipe and Prickly Pear. Other plants and trees to be found are; Apache Plume, Blue Phacelia, Big Sagebrush, Brittlebrush, Chia, Chuparosa, Cliffrose, Cave Primrose, Datura, Desert Chickory, Desert Dandelion and Desert Five-Spot. Also you will find; Desert Globemallow, Desert Lily, Desert Lupine, Desert Mariposa Lily, Desert Paintbrush, Desert Pincushion, and Desert Sunflower. There are many varieties of plants, cactus and trees plus wild flowers to be found in this vast area.
If you will notice as you drive in this Sonoran Desert area along the sides of the road you will see many of the wildflowers and if you drive off the main roads you will see even more beautiful wildflowers, plants, cactus and trees. Plan to spend a little time in this vast area and do not forget to bring along that camera or video camera to record your time in this beautiful and unusual area of North America.
