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Eastern & Southern Arizona

Sedimentary layers adjacent to Putnam Wash that were uplifted in the formation of the Tortilla Mountains.

The Tortilla Mountains are extraordinarily dry -- they are not very featured and they are composed of porous sand -- so in a few places Arizona Trail volunteers keep water caches, which was a pleasant surprise for me.

The Arizona Trail through the Tortilla Mountains

Saguaro cacti and other classic Low Sonoran vegetation; in the mountain range in the background is the Santa Teresa Range, which is the eastern backdrop for Tucson.

One of the best sights in the desert: an artesian well near White Canyon Wilderness.

A beautiful sandstone escarpment in the White Canyon Wilderness.

A large sandstone bluff

That same sandstone escarpment, this time from its sunny west side

Like New Mexico, the geology in Arizona is a mixed bag of sedimentary layers (like the bluff on the left) and volcanic activity (like the erosion-resistant volcanic plug in the center).

Whitford Canyon, as seen from near Montana Mountain, near the south end of the Superstition Wilderness.

Rattlesnake encounter while climbing out of Whitford Canyon

Unequivocally the largest alligator juniper that I have ever seen. This thing is a monster!

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