Tumamoc Hill
Encyclopedia
Tumamoc Hill is located west of downtown Tucson, Arizona
and is home to many radio
, television
, and public safety transmitter
s. The University of Arizona
owns a 340 acres (1.4 km²) preserve and leases another 509 acres (2.1 km²) as a research and education facility with a small astronomical observatory with a 20 inches (508 mm) telescope on the hill. Besides being a prominent landmark, Tumamoc Hill has a long and varied history, and is currently an important site for ecological and anthropological research as well as a refuge and an opportunity for the people of Tucson. Public events and information can be found at http://www.tumamoc.org.
32.214099°N 111.005848°W
Arizona State Scientific and Natural Educational Area
National Historic Landmark
National Register of Historic Places
people. It is the site of the earliest known trincheras village, consisting of 160 foundations of round stone structures.. Hundreds of petroglyphs and a prehistoric garden beside the hill provide further evidence of Tumamoc’s importance to these mysterious people.. Even after these ancient inhabitants moved away (about 1,300 years ago), the site continued to provide resources to the Tohono O'odham
, Akimel O'odham, and the Hopi
. It has also been reported to be a burial site for Apache
and Papago
.].
European settlers prized the rock and clay found on the hill for building in the late 19th century, and early ecologists just after the turn of the 20th century selected it for the site of the Carnegie Institute's Desert Laboratory
... The hill continues to be a landmark and a sanctuary for the people of Tucson today. The road up Tumamoc Hill is a popular destination for walking and running. It is open to pedestrians in the early mornings and evenings. The steep hill provides a strenuous workout. Public lectures on the unique history and ecology are presented twice a month (see the hill's website).
in the United States. They began publishing a journal, Plant World, which later became the major journal Ecology..
Due to financial difficulties from the Great Depression, as well as a disconnect between the Carnegie Institute’s mission of making use of the desert and the researchers’ admiration of it, the Carnegie Institute turned the Desert Laboratory over to the Forest Service in 1940.. They initially offered it to the University of Arizona for $1, but were turned down.. Twenty years later, on July 20, 1960, after several easements and loss of research and records, the University purchased the reserve for considerably more..
Terah “Ted” Smiley, Paul Martin, and Ray Turner were some of the researchers through the 1960s, 1970’s and 1980’s who returned to the remaining plots which had been set up to monitor vegetation.. Jay Quade, Bob Webb, Julio Betancourt, Jan Bowers, and Betsy Pierson have continued using Tumamoc Hill to study the vegetation and ecology of the Sonoran Desert.. Today, Larry Venable directs research on Tumamoc Hill. Michael Rosenzweig is director of Tumamoc: People & Habitats program..
The long term observations and experiments on Tumamoc Hill’s vegetation have provided insights on saguaro boom and bust population dynamics, blue palo verde’s dependence on riparian areas, disease and other threats to desert tortoises, and the interactions of a community of small winter annuals and the insects and rodents that prey on their seeds...
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
and is home to many radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, and public safety transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
s. The University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
owns a 340 acres (1.4 km²) preserve and leases another 509 acres (2.1 km²) as a research and education facility with a small astronomical observatory with a 20 inches (508 mm) telescope on the hill. Besides being a prominent landmark, Tumamoc Hill has a long and varied history, and is currently an important site for ecological and anthropological research as well as a refuge and an opportunity for the people of Tucson. Public events and information can be found at http://www.tumamoc.org.
32.214099°N 111.005848°W
Official Designations and Management
National Environmental Study SiteArizona State Scientific and Natural Educational Area
National Historic Landmark
National Register of Historic Places
Human history
Tumamoc Hill was a home to the ancient HohokamHohokam
Hohokam is one of the four major prehistoric archaeological Oasisamerica traditions of what is now the American Southwest. Many local residents put the accent on the first syllable . Variant spellings in current, official usage include Hobokam, Huhugam and Huhukam...
people. It is the site of the earliest known trincheras village, consisting of 160 foundations of round stone structures.. Hundreds of petroglyphs and a prehistoric garden beside the hill provide further evidence of Tumamoc’s importance to these mysterious people.. Even after these ancient inhabitants moved away (about 1,300 years ago), the site continued to provide resources to the Tohono O'odham
Tohono O'odham
The Tohono O'odham are a group of Native American people who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona and northwest Mexico...
, Akimel O'odham, and the Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
. It has also been reported to be a burial site for Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
and Papago
Papago
Papago may refer to:* An archaic term for Tohono O'odham people* Papago , a genus of geometer moths* Papago Freeway, I-10 through Phoenix, Arizona* Papago Freeway Tunnel, a tunnel in Arizona* Papago Park, a park in Arizona...
.].
European settlers prized the rock and clay found on the hill for building in the late 19th century, and early ecologists just after the turn of the 20th century selected it for the site of the Carnegie Institute's Desert Laboratory
Desert Laboratory
The Desert Laboratory at 1675 West Anklam Road, Tucson, Arizona was founded by the Carnegie Institution in 1903 to better understand how plants adapted to arid desert environments. Numerous long term ecological experiments were created on the around Tumamoc Hill...
... The hill continues to be a landmark and a sanctuary for the people of Tucson today. The road up Tumamoc Hill is a popular destination for walking and running. It is open to pedestrians in the early mornings and evenings. The steep hill provides a strenuous workout. Public lectures on the unique history and ecology are presented twice a month (see the hill's website).
History of ecological research
Frederick V. Colville, chief botanist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1903 convinced the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund the creation of a Desert Laboratory near the small mining and ranching town of Tucson.. The goal was to study desert adaptations of plants in hopes of increasing agricultural output of the desert. Among the pioneering researchers, who helped to shape the then-developing field of ecology in the United States, were William Cannon, Volney M. Spaulding, Daniel T. MacDougal, Burton Livingston, Godfrey Sykes, and Forrest Shreve.. This research continued until the 1940s, during which time the scientists there were instrumental in the development of the field of ecologyEcology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
in the United States. They began publishing a journal, Plant World, which later became the major journal Ecology..
Due to financial difficulties from the Great Depression, as well as a disconnect between the Carnegie Institute’s mission of making use of the desert and the researchers’ admiration of it, the Carnegie Institute turned the Desert Laboratory over to the Forest Service in 1940.. They initially offered it to the University of Arizona for $1, but were turned down.. Twenty years later, on July 20, 1960, after several easements and loss of research and records, the University purchased the reserve for considerably more..
Terah “Ted” Smiley, Paul Martin, and Ray Turner were some of the researchers through the 1960s, 1970’s and 1980’s who returned to the remaining plots which had been set up to monitor vegetation.. Jay Quade, Bob Webb, Julio Betancourt, Jan Bowers, and Betsy Pierson have continued using Tumamoc Hill to study the vegetation and ecology of the Sonoran Desert.. Today, Larry Venable directs research on Tumamoc Hill. Michael Rosenzweig is director of Tumamoc: People & Habitats program..
The long term observations and experiments on Tumamoc Hill’s vegetation have provided insights on saguaro boom and bust population dynamics, blue palo verde’s dependence on riparian areas, disease and other threats to desert tortoises, and the interactions of a community of small winter annuals and the insects and rodents that prey on their seeds...