CULTURAL HISTORY
Native Peoples
Prehistoric desert people wandered the upland canyons of the Ajo Range to
gather wild foods and to drink from pools of water in the rock known as tinajas.
When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, descendants of these prehistoric
peoples, the Tohono O'odham (formerly called the Papago), occupied this section
of the Sonoran Desert and were engaged in dry farming. As late as 1929, the area
was occupied by a community of Tohono O’odham, whose buildings covered
about two hundred acres, and included a ballcourt and pithouse and other activity
clusters.
Exploration & Settlement
During the three centuries after the arrival of
the Spanish, the natural habitat was greatly disturbed by cattle ranching and
mining of the desert for precious metals. But since
its establishment as a national monument, this unique region of the Sonoran area
has begun to revert to its wilderness state.
Political History
The Monument was established April 12, 1937, by
Presidential Proclamation of Franklin D.
Roosevelt. Established as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976 by the
United Nations, it is an almost pristine example of the Sonoran Desert. In 1978
Quitobaquito Springs was placed on National Register of Historic Places. In 2001
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (specifically Quitobaquito Springs) and nearby
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge were declared Globally Important Bird
Areas (IBA) by the American Bird Conservancy.
Elevation 1670 ft. at visitor center; highest elevation 4808 ft. at
Mt. Ajo.
Average Precipitation 7.2 inches
Acreage: 330,689 acres, with 95% designated wilderness
- Federal: 329,316.31;
- Non-federal: 1,372.55.
- Wilderness area: 312,600.
Natural History
Plants & Animals
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was established
to protect the rare Organ Pipe Cactus and 27 other cacti species, as well as
550 species of vascular plants, and more than 200 species of birds and other
animals, many of which are unique to this area. Three distinctive divisions of
the Sonoroan Desert converge here, representing six plant communities. The uniqueness
of this habitat is attested to by the rarity of the Organ Pipe Cactus itself,
and the even more rare Senita
Cactus, both of which are found nowhere else in the US.
Prevalent plants include: Buckhorn Cholla, Creosote Bush, Chain-fruit Cholla, Teddy Bear Cholla, Ocotillo, Bursage, Englemann's Prickly Pear, Barrel Cactus, Jojoba, Mexican Jumping Bean, Christmas, Cactus, Pencil Cholla, Palo Verde, Oak, Juniper, Ironwood and Mesquite trees.
There are six varieties of rattlesnakes, as well
as Gila Monsters and scorpions here at Organ Pipe. These animals play an important
role in the ecology of the desert and should not be harmed. They include the
Roadrunner, Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Red-tailed Hawk, Coyote, Cactus
Wren, Javelina, Desert Tortoise, Gila Monster, Gila Woodpecker and White-winged
Dove.
Geology
As elsewhere in southern Arizona, steep linear mountain ranges are separated by sloping desert plains melting into pediments. All the mountains in Organ Pipe are fault-block ranges of different age and rock types.
The Bates Mountains in the northwestern portion of the park are flat-topped, sharp-edge mesas topped with Quarternary basalt lava flows.
The Ajo Range and the northwest slope of the Puerto Blanco Range are rugged, eroded Tertiary volcanic rocks with tilted layers of tuff, lava and breccia. The Ajos are cut through with numerous igneous dikes.
The southern Puerto Blanco Mountains and those in the Senita Basin are rounded hills of Mesozoic granite.
The central portion of the Puerto Blanco Mountains are light-colored metamorphic schist and gneiss from the Mesozoic. In places they contain pegmatite dikes.
Organ Pipe Cactus NM Package - Book and Map to help explore the park.
