Horrned Lizard
When you think of an ecosystem, you might think of lush forests, or wide oceans, abundant with wildlife. However, the Saguaro desert is unique in its own way. Hidden amongst the 91,446 million acres of this hot, harsh, desert, are a world of organisms that thrive to survive. Located in Arizona, this park’s variety of plant and animal life surpass all other North American deserts. It is divided into two districts, named after the mountain ranges that surround the park; named the Tuscan and Rincon. The saguaro cacti are very important to this ecosystem. In fact, the ecosystem is named after this massive cactus that calls this place its home. One very important organism that lives in the Saguaro desert is the horned lizard.
Without the horned lizard, the Saguaro desert would fall apart quickly. If you have ever heard someone say, “Hey look! There’s a horned toad!” they are really referring to a horned lizard. They have spines (spikes) to protect themselves from predators. These lizards move slowly, and are patient for their food. They eat mostly insects such as ants, and in the Saguaro desert, they eat kangaroo rats. There are 14 different species of horned lizards. They are different in some ways, but all of their colors resemble their surroundings, and it helps them to stay safer. Horned lizards can survive in many climates and temperatures. If it gets too hot, they burrow with their head sticking out at the surface of the ground. That way, it cools them down without having to go far. Conveniently they can stay in their home for the winter. They survive by burrowing in the ground and hibernating. Horned lizards mostly lay eggs, but for some species, the young are born alive. After the eggs are laid, the parents ...
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... of the Tuscan area used the Saguaro cactus for framework in the walls of their homes. The Saguaro ribs were used to collect the fruit that grew high up on the plant. The Hohokam people used the sweet fruits from the cacti for wine in ceremonies, jellies, and candies. They used the leftover seeds for chicken feed. Humans built houses in the Tuscan area, and it caused the Saguaro desert a large amount of it’s habitat. Now that us humans don’t have as much land to destroy, this national park is becoming safer by the day.
As you can now see, the Saguaro desert has many things about it, that we don't want to lose. It may look all rugged and beat up, but you might not know that a lot of amazing things can happen to it. It is more than just boring sand and cacti, and even a well known park. It is a home to an abundance of amazing organisms, and hopefully more to come.
This chapter, or in this case the introduction, is exactly what it is labeled as; an introduction. The main ideas of this introduction are more or less used to explain the goals of this book and also used to familiarize the reader with what is to come. Throughout the introduction, the author, David Quammen refers to a wide variety of unique and unheard of organisms that exist in nature. Not only do these organisms sound weird, but many often behave in unordinary ways. The okapi, the Xylocaris, the chambered nautilus, and the plant that eats frogs are just examples of the many different organisms Quammen talks about. The reason for Quammen’s use of such organisms is not to scare readers away from nature, but to actually lure them in. The main idea of Quammen’s whole introduction is basically to show readers that nature is not a freak show, but to show simply nature itself. At first this whole idea may seem a little cloudy and vague, but as you read on, one will start to understand what Quammen is really striving for. Quammen uses animals and plants as examples to show the very intricacies of nature and the natural world. One example that he uses that has helped my understanding of this idea was the black widow spider. Quammen tells us of his strong fear of spiders and he goes on telling us how the black widow is very poisonous and menacing, yet possesses an undeniable beauty. He also states the black widow as being dangerous but not malicious, and gorgeous or hideous depending upon how we see it. Quammen’s point is that no matter how you see the spider, it is still part of nature.
Committee on Senate Energy and National Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. 3 June 2003: ESBCO. Mission Viejo Library., Mission Viejo, CA. 31 July 2005. http://web31.epnet.com/citation.
Petrified Forest National Park is located in the Painted Desert in northeastern Arizona taking up 93,532.57 acres of its land. Before the national park was established, it was founded as a National Monument on December 8, 1906 when President Theodore Roosevelt signed the proclamation. Years later, the Congress passed a bill and established it as a national park on December 9, 1962. Centuries before Petrified Forest National Park was preserved as a national park, the land was preoccupied by the Paleo people. At the onset of the end of the last Ice Age, hunter-gatherers, people who lived by hunting game and only gathering edible plants, roamed the Southwest from 13,500 to 8000 B.C. Although these people enjoy meals consisting of meat and vegetables, they don’t raise livestock and grow crops. During these years of hunting and gathering, the region was cooler with a grassland environment, and people gathered wild plants for food and hunted bison and other large herd of animals. The types of bison these people hunted are now extinct. Nomads used a device called an atlatl to throw their weapons, such as spears and darts, to hunt. By 4000 B.C., during the archaic culture, the climate had changed and became similar to the one of the present. This period of hunting, gathering, and farming had lasted from 8000 to 500 B.C. In contrast to the time of the Paleo people, the climate was warmer, people extended their access to different types of food, and people began to farm and grow their crops. Due to the extinction of animals of the past, people had to expand their source of food, and they had to include many different species of plants and animals into their meals. Two hundred twenty-five million years ago, trees fell and were washe...
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is featured in the National Park Service American Southwest Travel Itinerary http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/amsw/, Places Reflecting America's Diverse Cultures: Explore their Stories in the National Park System Travel Itinerary http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/cultural_diversity/index.html, and American Latino Heritage Travel Itinerary. http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/Quarai.html
The world has been shaped by many events. Like a sculpture each piece was a result of an event that made it that way. The Snake River Canyon is no different, most of upper Utah and part southern Idaho show the scars of an event that rocked the landscape into what it is today. When researching and digging in the region you can find remnants of an old marine environment, from sediment deposits to river terraces hundreds of feet high. It’s confusing to think of the area as a giant lake with sandy beaches and powerful waves, but the overflow of this huge lake is what created most of the landscape you can see today. The great Bonneville flood was the world second largest flood, emptying over 32,000 square miles of lake volume. (Utah Geological Society) The flood that the this overfill caused carved through many areas and created the beautiful valley that can be seen there. However, this didn’t just happen over night. The pre-flood history, flood event, specific flood deposits all played an important role in shaping this large Geological marvel. Understanding what happened back then can give us a good glimpse into better understanding the region today, which can lead to better predicting and preserving for the future.
The Cahuilla were a Native Southern Californian tribe that occupied the Riverside County, Higher Palomar Mountain Region and East Colorado Desert. The tribe was divided into two groups or moieties know as Wildcats or Coyotes. The Cahuilla lived in small clans that varied in population, and together all the separate clans made up a larger political group called a sib ”http://www.aguacaliente.org/content/History%20&%20Culture/.” The tribe was at first considered to be very simple and savage because they were never interacted with. As the Europeans and Spanish Missionaries considered the desert an inhospitable place that was better to avoid because of its lack of food resources. Little did those European and Spanish missionaries know that the land was ripe with food, only if you knew the land and the seasons. The Cahuilla were a very interesting tribe that cared and loved their land and in return the land would provide them with an abundance of food and resources. The Cahuilla had a very simple yet intricate life that involved a seasonal migration in order to gain access to different foods. They relied on different ways of acquiring food which involved both hunting and gathering.
A surprising fun fact about the Grand Canyon is that it is one of the few natural la...
Time and time again it has been seen that human interaction with his/her environment and it’s ecosystems has shown to be increasingly arrogant and self-serving. These endless accounts are proven by the amount of important biological diversity that is being lost to the surrounding environment due to these threats of human development and population growth. There are two forms of these losses of diversity by human hand: direct and indirect. Direct losses would be the destruction of an area needed for human requirements be it social or economical. Examples of these losses would be housing, agriculture, and others. Indirect losses would be those caused by the destruction of an area also needed for the same requirements but the area’s commodities which are valued, water, food, land in general, is needed elsewhere. These losses are few in number compared with those of direct losses yet they are of the greatest importance. They are important because they involve the removal of resources of an area in which other inhabitants are dependent upon. A great example of this regrettable indirect expansion is the loss of the rich habitat of the area known as Owens Valley.
His expertise may attract an array of readers, both newcomers and old-timers. It seems that his intended audience might be those who share his love of the desert and also those who want to know more. The essay is quasi-organized like an educational brochure or an expert interview with an inveterate desert denizen. An unintended audience of course might include the fledgling environmental activists who were emerging in the 1960s to fight for the protection of wilderness. Because of its focus on natural history, the article and the anthology, Desert Solitaire, in which it was published, might...
It is a significant habitat for many marine species and they are among the most productive natural systems (Restoring a special place at Myora Springs, 2012). This is indicated by the dense plant growth and high diversity of organisms that use this ecosystem for breeding, nursery and feeding areas.
The geology, its history, and the presence of past civilizations contribute to much of the significance of Mesa Verde National Park. The interconnectedness of these aspects should also be noted. If not for the weathering processes and changes in sea level this formation would not exist. Without it, the ancient people would not have been able to reside within Mesa Verde. This National Park now serves as a tool to help conserve the remains of these past civilizations as well as to help educate today’s society on the significance behind this astonishing geologic
In the article, “The Great American Desert”, Edward Abbey (1977) is trying to convince the general public that the desert is not a place for humans to explore. He talks a lot about the dangers of the desert and tries to convince the readers that the desert is not worth wasting your time and going and visiting. I disagree with Abbey. Anyone who has some knowledge about the desert and takes a class or is accompanied by an expert who knows a lot about the desert should be able to venture out in the many great American deserts.
According to Kamp 1997, Sinagua is described as archaeological culture that originated from parts of Northern and central Arizona. The book covers extensively process on the archaeological investigation. This is where Kamp take the reader through selection process of research area and site. She also shows importance of complying with archaeological excavation laws and regulations. The book also offers a good insight on the excavation strategies, site mapping as well as artifact analysis and dating methods (Kamp, 1997). She explains in details and relate successfully archaeological dating methods that include stratigraphy, seriation and absolute dating methods with Lizard Man Case (Kamp, 1997). The information offered is well explained and of great importance even to
Chichen Itza is a historical site in Mexico located on the Yucatán Peninsula. The city was once a populated Mayan city. At one point Chichen Itza was a major part of the Northern Mayan Lowlands. The city is thousands of years old and built in the pre-Columbian era (the time before the wave of Europeans after the discovery made by Christopher Columbus) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichen_Itza ). The city is a very historical site and is visited by over one million tourists every year (http://www.chichenitza.com/ ). Even though it is not booming with the people that once lived there, it is still incredibly popular and busy throughout the year. The most popular part of the archeological city is El Castillo, a Mayan pyramid that dominated the
In many parts of the world, ecosystems’ temperatures begin to rise and fall to extreme levels making it very difficult for animals and plants to adapt in time to survive. Climate has never been stable here on Earth. Climate is an important environmental influence on ecosystems. Climate changes the impacts of climate change, and affects ecosystems in a variety of ways. For instance, warming could force species to migrate to higher latitudes or higher elevations where temperatures are more conducive to their survival. Similarly, as sea level rises, saltwater intrusion into a freshwater sys...