Arizona Mountains forests
Encyclopedia
The Arizona Mountains forests are a temperate coniferous forests
ecoregion
of the southwest United States
with a rich variety of woodland habitats and wildlife.
in northern Arizona
south to the Mogollon Plateau
and eastwards across into southwestern New Mexico
. Elevations range from 1370m to 3,000 m with some peaks higher than that. Specific areas include the Gila Wilderness
in New Mexico.
, fir
and quaking aspen(Populus tremuloides
) trees typical of the Rocky Mountains
further north along with typically Mexican
trees such as Chihuahua Pine
(Pinus leiophylla), Apache pine (Pinus engelmannii) and the Arizona Pine
of the Gila Wilderness and elsewhere. The lower elevations have a mixed pinyon pine
-juniper
-oak
woodland. Finally the rivers and their banks are important habitats for specific wildlife and fish.
and many birds and reptiles that are common in Mexico further south, such as the secretive Montezuma Quail
. The caves of the Guadalupe Mountains
are a specific habitat for beetles, centipede
s and other invertebrates.
) and Goodding's willow (Salix gooddingii
), the endangered Gila trout (Oncorhynchus gilae), Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). The logging continues to remove habitat of the Mexican Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) and Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentalis).
Large blocks of remaining habitat include: the Aldo Leopold Wilderness
/Gila Wilderness/Blue Range Wilderness
and the El Malpais National Monument
and Conservation Area
in southwestern New Mexico; the Kaibab National Forest
, Blue Range Primitive Area, Grand Canyon National Park
, the Mazatzal Mountains
including Four Peaks
, Superstition Mountains
, Sycamore Canyon
, Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness
, Hellsgate Wilderness and the Galiuro Mountains
in Arizona; the Chuska Mountains
on Navajo
lands; and the Guadalupe Mountains including the Carlsbad Caverns in southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. Much of this is linked and well-protected within national parkland.
Temperate coniferous forests
Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest. In most temperate coniferous forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while some are a mix of conifers and broadleaf evergreen...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
of the southwest United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with a rich variety of woodland habitats and wildlife.
Setting
This is a landscape of steep mountains and high stony plateaus with rocky outcrops from the Kaibab PlateauKaibab Plateau
The Kaibab Plateau is located in northern Arizona in the United States. The plateau, part of the larger Colorado Plateau, is bordered on the south by the Grand Canyon and reaches an elevation of 9241 feet above sea level. The plateau is divided between Kaibab National Forest and the "North Rim"...
in northern Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
south to the Mogollon Plateau
Mogollon Plateau
The Mogollon Plateau or Mogollon Mesa is a pine-covered southern plateau section of the larger Colorado Plateau in east-central Arizona. The southern boundary of the plateau is the Mogollon Rim. The Mogollon Plateau is 2,135-2,440 meters high...
and eastwards across into southwestern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. Elevations range from 1370m to 3,000 m with some peaks higher than that. Specific areas include the Gila Wilderness
Gila Wilderness
Gila Wilderness was designated the world's first wilderness area on June 3, 1924. Along with Aldo Leopold Wilderness and Blue Range Wilderness, the wilderness is part of New Mexico's Gila National Forest. The wilderness is approximately from north to south and east to west...
in New Mexico.
Flora
Trees of the area include some of the spruceSpruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
and quaking aspen(Populus tremuloides
Populus tremuloides
Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, and Quakies,. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 metres, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden...
) trees typical of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
further north along with typically Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
trees such as Chihuahua Pine
Chihuahua Pine
The Chihuahua Pine is a tree, in Mexico is also called Tlacocote and ocote chino with a range primarily in Mexico with a small extension into the United States in southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico. The Mexican range extends along the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur from...
(Pinus leiophylla), Apache pine (Pinus engelmannii) and the Arizona Pine
Arizona Pine
Pinus arizonica, commonly known as the Arizona pine, is a medium-sized pine in northern Mexico, southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico, and western Texas in the United States. It is a tree growing to 25-35 m tall, with a trunk diameter of up . The needles are in bundles of 3, 4, or 5, with...
of the Gila Wilderness and elsewhere. The lower elevations have a mixed pinyon pine
Pinyon pine
The pinyon pine group grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The trees yield edible pinyon nuts, which were a staple of the Native Americans, and are still widely eaten...
-juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
-oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
woodland. Finally the rivers and their banks are important habitats for specific wildlife and fish.
Fauna
Wildlife found here include the miniature Northern Saw-whet OwlNorthern Saw-whet Owl
The Northern Saw-whet Owl is a small owl native to North America.-Description:The scientific description of one of the sub-species of this owl is attributed to the Rev. John Henry Keen who was a missionary in Canada in 1896. Adults are long with a wingspan. They can weigh from with an average...
and many birds and reptiles that are common in Mexico further south, such as the secretive Montezuma Quail
Montezuma Quail
The Montezuma Quail is a stubby, secretive New World quail of Mexico and some nearby parts of the United States. It is also known as Mearns's Quail, the Harlequin Quail , and the Fool Quail .-Description:At about 22 cm , it is one of the shortest quails of North America, although it weighs 180 g...
. The caves of the Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
The Guadalupe Mountains are a mountain range located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The range includes the highest summit in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, , and the "signature peak" of West Texas, El Capitan, both located within Guadalupe Mountains National Park, as well as Carlsbad Caverns...
are a specific habitat for beetles, centipede
Centipede
Centipedes are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of...
s and other invertebrates.
Threats and preservation
This is a fairly stable ecoregion with about 25% of original habitat still intact although vulnerable to logging and overgrazing. Pollution and reduction of rivers are threatening specific plants and animals including Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontiiPopulus fremontii
Populus fremontii, the Fremont cottonwood or Alamo cottonwood, is a cottonwood poplar native to western North America, in California and east to Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, and south into Sonora in northwestern Mexico...
) and Goodding's willow (Salix gooddingii
Salix gooddingii
Salix gooddingii is a species of willow known by the common name Goodding's willow, or Goodding's black willow. It was named for its collector, Leslie Newton Goodding....
), the endangered Gila trout (Oncorhynchus gilae), Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). The logging continues to remove habitat of the Mexican Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) and Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentalis).
Large blocks of remaining habitat include: the Aldo Leopold Wilderness
Aldo Leopold Wilderness
Aldo Leopold Wilderness, along with Gila Wilderness and Blue Range Wilderness, is part of New Mexico's Gila National Forest. It became part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1980 by an act of the United States Congress and has a total of...
/Gila Wilderness/Blue Range Wilderness
Blue Range Wilderness
Blue Range Wilderness, along with Aldo Leopold Wilderness and Gila Wilderness, is part of Gila National Forest. It is located on the western border of New Mexico where it adjoins the Blue Range Primitive Area of Arizona and west of U.S. Route 180 between Reserve and Glenwood. The wilderness is...
and the El Malpais National Monument
El Malpais National Monument
El Malpais National Monument is a National Monument located in western New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. The name El Malpais is from the Spanish term Malpaís, meaning badlands, due to the extremely barren and dramatic volcanic field that covers much of the park's area.-Geography:The El...
and Conservation Area
El Malpais National Conservation Area
The El Malpais National Conservation Area is a federally protected conservation area in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The El Malpais National Conservation area was established in 1987 and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management...
in southwestern New Mexico; the Kaibab National Forest
Kaibab National Forest
At 1.6 million acres the Kaibab National Forest borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon, in north-central Arizona. It is divided into three major sections: the North Kaibab Ranger District and the South Kaibab and are managed by USDA Forest Service...
, Blue Range Primitive Area, Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park is the United States' 15th oldest national park and is located in Arizona. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, considered to be one of the Wonders of the World. The park covers of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties.Most...
, the Mazatzal Mountains
Mazatzal Mountains
The Mazatzal Mountains are a mountain range in south central Arizona, about 30–45 miles northeast of Phoenix and the Phoenix metropolitan area. The origin of the name remains obscure but one possibility is that it is from the Aztec language meaning "place of the deer"...
including Four Peaks
Four Peaks
Four Peaks , at in altitude, is a prominent landmark on the eastern skyline of Phoenix, part of the Mazatzal Mountains. It is located in the Tonto National Forest east-northeast of Phoenix, in the Four Peaks Wilderness...
, Superstition Mountains
Superstition Mountains
The Superstition Mountains , popularly referred to as "The Superstitions", are a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area...
, Sycamore Canyon
Sycamore Canyon
Sycamore Canyon is the second largest canyon in the Arizona redrock country, after Oak Creek Canyon. The long scenic canyon reaches a maximum width of about and is located in North Central Arizona below the Mogollon Rim west and northwest of Sedona. Located within three different U.S...
, Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness
Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness
The Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area located within the Coconino National Forest in the U.S. state of Arizona.The Wilderness is predominantly wind and water sculpted pinnacles, windows, arches, and slot canyons, and the red-rock cliffs of the Mogollon Rim that mark the edge...
, Hellsgate Wilderness and the Galiuro Mountains
Galiuro Mountains
The Galiuro Mountains are a large sky island mountain range of southeast Arizona, USA. It is a northerly mountain range in the Madrean Sky Islands region of southeast Arizona, northern Sonora, Northern Mexico, and extreme southwest, bootheel New Mexico....
in Arizona; the Chuska Mountains
Chuska mountains
The Chuska Mountains are an elongate range on the Colorado Plateau and within the Navajo Nation. The range is about 80 by 15 km , and it trends north-northwest and is crossed by the state line between Arizona and New Mexico. The highlands are a dissected plateau, with an average elevation of...
on Navajo
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
lands; and the Guadalupe Mountains including the Carlsbad Caverns in southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. Much of this is linked and well-protected within national parkland.