Part 1: Sabino Canyon

20210413

The Experience

The Photos

The photos below are what we saw.

We left the shuttle base and headed into the canyon and got our first view of Thimble Peak on the ridge between Sabino Canyon and the Tucson valley.  This is a large volcanic outcropping and got it's name for obvious reasons.

Sabino Canyon is rare in that it is a natural riparian area and usually has some running water year-around.  Little of this water makes it to the valley floor, but rather sinks into the aquifer before it exits the canyon.

The canyon is both steep and deep.  The southern canyon wall has huge cliffs that are made of metamorphic gneiss which is a very hard rock and can create steep cliffs.

The road into the canyon is a narrow one lane road that was built during the depression by the WPA and CCC.  Crews moved river cobbles and used hand-made concrete to create the bridges over the creek bottom.

The bridges were designed such that the water could run over the top of the bridge during the rainy season.

Some of the areas in the canyon bottom had nice pools of water that were sheltered by large cottonwood trees.

Thimble Peak provides the perfect frame for the placid waters of the lower canyon.

The south cliff walls had large hoodoos and huge ramparts of banded Catalina Gneiss.  Note the window between the twin hoodoos on the left of the ridgeline.

The southern flanks of the canyon had nice stands of sahauros; some were very tall.

Some sections of the canyon wall shows repeated intrusions by granitic flows.  These appear in the walls as light stripes along splitting planes in the rock.

The upper sections of the canyon were very rugged with steep outcrops of rock and scree slopes covered with prickly cactus and bushes.

This section of the canyon wall shows evidence of a huge landslide.  The landslide left a large scar in the rock walls.

The tram went to the end of the canyon road and turned around.  On the way back to the visitor's center we got a view of one of the nice pools carved into the Catalina Gneiss.  The banding in the rock is clearly visible in the photo above.

The return trip allowed me to have the sun at my back eliminating the solar haze.  The smooth waters in the creek reflected images of the steep canyon walls.

The bands in the cliff walls are clearly visible in the exposed outcropping above.

A parting view of Thimble Peak on our egress from Sabino Canyon.

During the rainy season, this portion of the creek bed is flowing fast and strong.  Today, it was a placid pool.

Near the lower tram stop, we could see the local flora in bloom.

Near the parking area were nice Ocotillos in bloom

The ocotillo blooms are brilliant red and have a nice scent that attracts the pollinating insects.  The cruel spines prevent herbivores from feasting on the plant.

Spring in the Sonoran desert brings all kinds of new growth on the local plants.  Above, a prickly pear cactus sports new paddles.

The local cholla cactus were busy propagating as well.  In addition to flowering blooms, this cactus procreates by dropping spiny pods that get caught on passing animals (read "me") and get transported to new locations to sprout anew.

There are a number of cholla species in the Tucson valley, some more spiny than others.  All are problematic if you contact them as their spines are cruel and unforgiving.

This species of cholla is the worst.  The "golden cholla", named for obvious reasons, sports dense, strong spines that are painful and as an added bonus also produce unsightly scars.

Even the local flowers were in bloom.



In the Sonoran Desert, the sahauro cactus bloom in the spring.  They sport bright white flowers and are pollinated at night by the local bat population.  Once pollinated, the buds turn into a tasty fruit that were harvested by the local Indians.



In addition to being pollinated by bats at night, the sahauro flowers are serviced by bees.



A last view of the southern flanks of the Santa Catalina Mountains as seen from Sabino Canyon.

Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2021, all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use without attribution.