Trails-Tucson

Trails-Arizona

General

Windy Point - Mt Lemmon

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What are Sky Islands?

Weldon Heald coined the term "sky islands" in 1967 to denote mountain ranges that are isolated from each other by intervening valleys of grassland or desert. The valleys of this basin and range country act as barriers to the movement of woodland and forest species somewhat like saltwater seas isolate plants and animals on oceanic islands.

- Sky Island Alliance

The Old Pueblo

The surrounding area of Tucson, Arizona belongs to such a collection of sky islands.  Migrating from the Mogollon Rim into upper Northeast Sonora, these sky islands offer dramatic climatic and geologic change within short distances.  The basin of Tucson sits within four of these sky islands, Rincon, Santa Catalina, Santa Rita and Tucson Mountains.  Most of this region is managed and protected by the Coronado National Forest.  However, some small state and national parks exist such as Catalina State Park and Saguaro National Park East and West.

Santa Rita Mountains

Surprisingly, the Santa Rita Mountain Range is not part of the Rocky Mountains.  Instead it is the northernmost part of the Sierra Madre Range which begins in central Mexico and rises north through the State of Sonora.  Formed from a separate rift plate, other area mountain ranges  such as the Rincon and the Santa Catalina mark the southernmost boundary of the "Rockies." The Santa Rita Mountains lie south of Metropolitan Tucson, near Green Valley. 

- Madera Reserve

Santa Rita Mountains

Santa Catalina Mountains

Thousands of years ago the Tohono O'Odham nation, formally known as the Papago, lived and thrived in the southwest desert nearby the current city of Tucson, Arizona.  Shadowing their homes and fields was a mountain range that they called Babad Do’ag or "frog mountain".  This name remained for thousands of years until European missionaries (Father Kino) and American settlers began inhabiting the area. Now this same mountain range is called Santa Catalina, and all that remains of this ancient title is Babat Duag Overlook (changed to phonetic spelling), one of the many stops along Mt Lemmon Highway.

Rincon Mountains

[In the mid 1950s] the National Park Service drew up plans to develop the Rincon Mountains in a manner similar to the Mount Lemmon area.  A 19-mileroad called the Desert Mountain Highway would be constructed from the [Saguaro] monument headquarters to Manning Camp.  The thinking at the time was that such development would relieve the stress on the Mount Lemmon area, and that the rapid growth of the Tucson area demanded more recreational facilities.  Fortunately for hikers who enjoy the wilderness, the Desert Mountain Highway never materialized.

- Tucson Hiking Guide, Betty Leavengood; 1997.

Today the Rincon Mountains offer many levels of enjoyment;  whether ORV or biking in the Redington Pass area, strolling through Saguaro National Park, or hiking the remote wilderness of Manning Camp and Rincon Peak, the Rincon Mountains have continued to preserve its natural beauty for all.

Tucson Mountains

Today we think of the Tucson Mountains as a protected area within the Saguaro National Park. But not too long ago, avid prospectors and gem collectors frequented these mountains mining extensively for copper, gold, silver, lead and other valuable minerals. Scattered through the mountains are remnants of over 120 mines and quarries.  These and more recent mining activities have produced a dizzying array of over 80 minerals from the Tucson Mountains, including some of the world's most spectacular fiery-red vanadinite specimens.  These minerals provide us with a unique glimpse of the geologic history of the Tucson Mountains and also attest to a legacy of human activities in the Sonoran Desert. 

- Sonoran Desert Museum