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South Mountains (Arizona)
The South Mountains (O'odham language, O'odham: ''Muhaḍagĭ Doʼag'', Yavapai language, Yavapai: ''Wi:ki'tiyeda'', ), known locally as simply South Mountain, is a mountain range in central Arizona in south Phoenix, Arizona. The majority of the range is public land managed by the City of Phoenix as South Mountain Park, but a small portion extends into the Gila River Indian Community. Geologically, the South Mountains are thought to be a metamorphic core complex: evidence of movement of the North American tectonic plates from southwest to northeast and northeast to southwest, pushing up a series of mountain ranges including South Mountain. Other ridges with parallel orientation lie within the basin covered by basin fill sediments. The structural basin forms the Phoenix metro area, which appears flat like a lake around mountains that rise over it like islands. The buried ridges are in the same orientation as the South Mountains, about one km high, and about one km apart from peak to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laveen Mountains
Laveen ( ) is a community in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, situated southwest of Downtown Phoenix, Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, between South Mountain Park, South Mountain and the confluence of the Gila River, Gila and Salt River (Arizona), Salt rivers. Parts of Laveen constitute an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Maricopa County, while the remainder falls within the city limits of Phoenix, constituting the city's "Laveen Village" an urban village. Laveen Village is split between District 7 and District 8, both notable as minority-majority districts for the city. Although Laveen has been home to "pastoral alfalfa, cotton, and dairy farms" since the 1880s, housing and commercial developments have been increasingly urbanizing the area. History The Laveen area was first settled by farmers and dairymen in 1884. Despite its proximity to Phoenix, the community was isolated from its larger neighbor by the Salt River (Ariz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Biking
Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, such as air or coil-sprung shocks used as suspension, larger and wider wheels and tires, stronger frame materials, and mechanically or hydraulically actuated disc brakes. Mountain biking can generally be broken down into distinct categories: Cross-country cycling, cross country, trail riding#Mountain biking, trail, all mountain, Enduro (mountain biking), enduro, Downhill cycling, downhill and freeride (mountain biking), freeride. About The sport requires endurance, core and back strength, balance, bike handling skills, and self-reliance. Advanced riders pursue both steep technical descents and high-incline climbs. In the case of freeride, downhill, and dirt jumping, aerial maneuvers are performed off bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bursera Microphylla
''Bursera microphylla'', known by the common name elephant tree in English or 'torote' in Spanish, is a tree in the genus '' Bursera''. It grows into a distinctive sculptural form, with a thickened, water-storing or caudiciform trunk. It is found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Distribution ''Bursera microphylla'' is the most northerly member of the Burseraceae in North America and also perhaps the most xeromorphic (desert-adapted) species within the genus as it thrives in the extremely arid desert hills and mountains in northwest Sonora. This tree is native to northwestern Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora and Zacatecas) and the southwestern United States (southern California and Arizona; especially in desert regions. This species can be found within Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Sonoran Desert National Monument, El Pinacate y Gran Desier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elephant Tree
Elephant tree is a common name for several plants with swollen stems and may refer to: * ''Boswellia papyrifera'', a species in the family Burserceae native to northeastern Africa * ''Bursera microphylla'', a species in the family Burserceae native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico * ''Operculicarya decaryi ''Operculicarya decaryi'', known as elephant tree or jabily, is a thick stemmed succulent plant species in the family (biology), family Anacardiaceae, named after the botany, botanical collector :fr:Raymond Decary, Raymond Decary. It is found in ...'', a species in the family Anacardiaceae native to Madagascar, and cultivated for bonsai * '' Pachycormus discolor'', a species in the family Anacardiaceae native to Baja California {{Plant common name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salt River (Arizona)
The Salt River (Spanish language, Spanish: , O'odham language, O'odham [Pima]: , Yavapai language, Yavapai: or , Maricopa language: Va Shly'ay) is a river in Gila County, Arizona, Gila and Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa counties in Arizona, United States, that is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about 200 miles (320 km) long.Calculated with Google Maps and Google Earth Its drainage basin covers about 13,700 square miles (35,000 km2). The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the 195-mile (314 km) Verde River. The Salt's headwaters tributaries, the Black River and East Fork, increase the river's total length to about 300 miles (480 km). The name Salt River comes from the river's course over large salt deposits shortly after the merging of the White and Black Rivers. Variant names According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Salt River has also been known as: * Assumption * Black River * Blau Fluss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desert Varnish
Desert varnish or rock varnish is an orange-yellow to black coating found on exposed rock surfaces in arid environments. Desert varnish is approximately one micrometer thick and exhibits nanometer-scale layering. Rock rust and desert patina are other terms which are also used for the condition, but less often. Formation Desert varnish forms only on physically stable rock surfaces that are no longer subject to frequent precipitation, fracturing or wind abrasion. The varnish is primarily composed of particles of clay along with oxides of iron and manganese. There is also a host of trace elements and almost always some organic matter. The color of the varnish varies from shades of brown to black. It has been suggested that desert varnish should be investigated as a potential candidate for a " shadow biosphere". However, a 2008 microscopy study posited that desert varnish has already been reproduced with chemistry not involving life in the lab, and that the main component is ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs, estimated to be 20,000 years old are classified as protected monuments and have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with prehistoric peoples. The word comes from the Greek prefix , from meaning " stone", and meaning "carve", and was originally coined in French as . In scholarly texts, a ''petroglyph'' is a rock engraving, whereas a '' petrograph'' (or ''pictograph'') is a rock painting. In common usage, the words are sometimes used interchangeably. Both types of image belong to the wider and more general category of rock art or parietal art. Petroforms, or patterns and shapes made by man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Cavalry
The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army. The United States Cavalry was formally created by an act of United States Congress, Congress on 3 August 1861 and ceased as a distinct Army branch in 1942.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 The name "cavalry" continues to be used as a designation for various specific United States Army formations and functions. This branch, alongside the Infantry Branch (United States), Infantry and Field Artillery Branch (United States), Artillery branches, was formerly considered to be one of the "classic" combat arms branches (defined as those branches of the army with the primary mission of engaging in armed combat with an enemy force). From the United States Declaration of Independence and the American War of Independence onwards, mounted troops were raised ad-hoc by the United States as emergencies presented themselves and were disbanded as soon as these had passed. In 1833, Congress cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hohokam
Hohokam was a culture in the Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest, North American Southwest in what is now part of south-central Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. It existed between 300 and 1500 CE, with cultural precursors possibly as early as 300 BCE. Archaeologists disagree about whether communities that practiced the culture were related or politically united. According to local oral tradition, Hohokam societies may be the ancestors of the historic Akimel Oʼodham, Akimel and Tohono Oʼodham in Southern Arizona. The origin of the culture is debated. Most archaeologists either argue it emerged locally or in Mesoamerica, but it was also influenced by the Northern Pueblo culture. Hohokam settlements were located on trade routes that extended past the Hohokam area, as far east as the Great Plains and west to the Pacific coast. Hohokam societies received a remarkable amount of immigration. Some communities established significant markets, such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate destruction by humans, or uncontrollable destruction by natural phenomena. The most common root causes that yield ruins in their wake are natural disasters, armed conflict, and population decline, with many structures becoming progressively derelict over time due to long-term weathering and scavenging. There are famous ruins all over the world, with notable sites originating from ancient China, the Indus Valley, ancient Iran, ancient Israel and Judea, ancient Iraq, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, ancient Yemen, Roman, ancient India sites throughout the Mediterranean Basin, and Incan and Mayan sites in the Americas. Ruins are of great importance to historians, archaeologists and anthropologists, whether they were once individual fort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystery Castle
Mystery Castle is located in the city of Phoenix, Arizona, in the foothills of South Mountain Park. It was built in the 1930s by Boyce Luther Gulley for his daughter Mary Lou Gulley. After learning he had tuberculosis, Gulley moved from Seattle to the Phoenix area and began building the house from found or inexpensive materials. Boyce Gulley died in 1945, and Mary Lou and her mother were notified by attorney that they had inherited the property. Shortly after, the mother and daughter moved in. Their story attracted attention, giving the home some renown as well as its exotic name: A ''Life Magazine'' story (January 26, 1948) used the headline "''Life'' Visits a Mystery Castle: A Young Girl Rules Over the Strange Secrets of a Fairy Tale Dream House in the Arizona Desert." The photograph featured Mary Lou posing atop the cantilever staircase leading to the roof of the house. That same year, Mary Lou and her mother began offering tours of the home. Construction Said to be hel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Tunnel
Natural Tunnel State Park is a Virginia state park, centered on the Natural Tunnel, a massive naturally formed cave that is so large it is used as a railroad tunnel. It is located in the Appalachian Mountains near Duffield in Scott County, Virginia. The Natural Tunnel, which is up to wide and high, began to form more than a million years ago when groundwater bearing carbonic acid percolated through crevices and slowly dissolved limestone and dolomite bedrock. A small river, which is now called Stock Creek, was diverted underground and it continued to erode the tunnel over many millennia. The walls of the tunnel show evidence of prehistoric life. Many fossils have been found in the creek bed and in the tunnel walls. Geology The tunnel passes through Purchase Ridge, which is made of the Ordovician Chepultepec Limestone and is near the axis of the Purchase Ridge syncline. It lies between the Clinchport Thrust Fault and the Hunter Valley Thrust Fault, on the Hunter Valley Thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
