Читать книгу Backpacking Arizona. From Deep Canyons to Sky Islands онлайн
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SKY ISLANDS
Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains
Arizona’s basin and range country culminates in southeastern Arizona, where the mountain ranges reach as high as 10,700 feet. In the broad valleys separating the ranges, the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona meets the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico, creating a mix of desert vegetation. But to the backpacker, the mountain ranges are of greatest interest. Crowned with forests of pine, fir, and aspen, and graced with springs and creeks, these isolated, lofty ranges are locally known as “sky islands.” Nearly all the sky islands are part of the Coronado National Forest, and many are protected as wilderness areas. The 9157-foot Santa Catalina Mountains are the most accessible of the sky islands, just north of Tucson. Although a paved road leads to the top of the mountain, the western and southern sections are included in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area. The wilderness is a complex maze of deep canyons, creeks, and granite peaks, all laced by a network of trails. East of Tucson, Saguaro National Park contains the Rincon Mountains, an 8664-foot sky island. Both the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Rincon Mountains rise from 3000-foot desert valleys, and the vegetation ranges from classic saguaro cactus to fir, quaking aspen, and spruce.