Tucson Basin Sunset — Image by kenne
Gusty Winds In The Tucson Basin — Image by kenne
Last Friday was a windy day creating clouds of dust over the Tucson basin.
This image shows the dust clouds as seen from Mt. Lemmon,
where it was windy but no dust on a chilly fall day.
— kenne
— Beck
Tucson Basin as Viewed from Blackett’s Ridge — Panorama by kenne
— from World Peace: The Voice of a Mountain Bird by
Tucson Basin from Marana to South Tucson with the Tortolita Mountains, Santa Catalina Mountains, and Rincon Mountains
as seen from Wasson Peak in the Tucson Mountains — Panorama Image by kenne
— Pete Seeger
View Of Tucson Basin from Sabino Canyon Recreation Area (January 1, 20018) — Panorama by kenne
The white line at the base of the distant mountains is probably the result of temperature inversion capturing a large body of cold air having nearly uniform conditions of temperature and humidity that dropped overnight under clear night skies to the lowest level at the edge of the mountains — that’s my best guess.
— kenne
Full Circle Over The Tucson Basin — Image by kenne
Full Circle
And did you find what you were looking for?
Yes, I was saturated
in the glimpse.
Enough to sleep by
that brief remembrance
all my life
as if it were a dream
of fire tearing itself
into rags of daylight.
And are you waiting for it to happen again?
Yes, I think like the sun
on the other side of the earth,
it has never stopped shining.
But I can only be where I’m at.
And if it doesn’t happen again?
Then I’ll still be where I’m at
which the universe must think is enough.
And will you be happy with that?
Yes. For all my looking
I have never been where I’m at.
— Jack Myers
The image of the rock captures a view of Thimble Peak between the trees looking down into the Tucson basin. Image by kenne
Trail Near The Top Of Wasson Peak Overlooking The Tucson Basin
Sweetwater Trail
Monday Morning Milers At The Top Of Wasson Peak — Images by kenne
Female Phainopepla High In A Mesquite Tree — Image by kenne
The phainopepla’s main food while wintering in the Tucson basin are desert mistletoe berries.
When eaten, the hard seeds are then passed through while the phainopepla is perched on their favorite tree branch,
often in a mesquite tree.
Female Plainopela In A Tree with Desert Mistletoe — Image by kenne
The seeds are left on the branch where they can germinate and set up a root system within the host plant.
kenne
Tucson Basin — Image by kenne
The Tucson groundwater recharge basin is located west of Tucson, which uses the natural basin located between two north-south mountain ranges on the Hohokam Indian Reservation. Most of the water used in the Tucson area comes from the ground and is now recharged by water from the Colorado River.
West of Tucson, in the Central Avra Valley’s natural basin, 11 recharge basins have been dug into the sandy ground. On any given day, at least some of them will be sparkling with deep blue water. Tucson sits atop an enormous reserve of groundwater, so the water in these basins flows down to “recharge” the underground aquifer. However, area water needs consume more than the annual rainfall provides to recharge the basin. The city turned to the Colorado River several hundred miles away in its search for more water. For $4 billion, Tucson helped build the Central Arizona Canal in 1973, connecting the river to Phoenix, Tucson, and other cities.
The Colorado River water flows into the basins and trickles down through the porous subsurface, mixing with the native groundwater before pumps delivered the hybrid water into homes. This way, the corrosive river water is filtered and diluted with the existing groundwater, making it palatable with Tucson residents’ standards.
The Hohokam people settled here in the Central Avra Valley of the Sonoran Desert because of the many rivers crossing through the basin. In the mid-1850s, the entire valley was a forest of mesquite trees, with cottonwoods, willows, and walnuts along the major streams. Much of the area was marshy, and malaria was a major problem for the original Fort Lowell along the Santa Cruz River. Today these rivers run dry but continue to flow underground. Without other water sources to help recharge the natural basin, the water level declines in riparian areas will change the ecology and cut the quality of the habitat provided by phreatophytic vegetation. Much work and conservation are needed to ensure the people and vegetation of the Sonoran Desert have the necessary water to maintain the water level. Otherwise, declines in riparian areas can change nature and cut the quality of the habitat provided by phreatophytic vegetation. With the continued loss of riparian habitat in the Tucson Basin, preservation of riparian habitat becomes increasingly critical. Water is an enormous benefactor to life in the Tucson Water Basin and the rest of the world. As inhabitants of this great desert, we must realize the importance of living in true harmony with the desert.
When you arise in the morning,
give thanks for the morning light,
give thanks for your nourishment
and the joy of living
If you see no reason for giving thanks,
the fault lies in yourself.
— kenne
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