Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument celebrates the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert. Here, in this desert wilderness of plants and animals and dramatic mountains and plains scenery, you can drive a lonely road, hike a backcountry trail, camp beneath a clear desert sky, or just soak in the warmth and beauty of the Southwest. The Monument exhibits an extraordinary collection of plants of the Sonoran Desert, including the organ pipe cactus, a large cactus rarely found in the United States. There are also many creatures that have been able to adapt themselves to extreme temperatures, intense sunlight and little rainfall.
Total size: 330,689 acres

Location:
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is located in southern Arizona near Ajo, along the US and Mexico border.

Historical Facts:
Prehistoric desert people led a nomadic life wandering the canyons of the Ajo Mountains in search of wild foods. They drank from pools of water in the rock known as tinajas. Their descendants became the Tohono O'odham people, who were practicing dry farming when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. Many Spanish explorers, missionaries and others crossing the area followed an almost waterless route called El Camino del Diablo, "the Devil's Highway." Their unmarked graves are still visible. Ranchers and miners found new water sources in the early 1900s. Today, some dirt roads lead to historic sites, including windmills, ranch houses, abandoned gold and silver mines and other remnants of the past.
Designation Date: April 13, 1937, by President Franklin Roosevelt

 

 

Watch the Clip In this country in southwest Arizona, the air temperature hovers around 118 degrees in high summer. Ground surfaces can reach 175. And yet hundreds of species of wildlife thrive in the Sonoran desert heat. Windows Media file: PC compatible Low: 174 KB | High: 1.09 MB QuickTime movie: Macintosh/PC compatible 1.02 MB >>Free software downloads:Windows Media - Quicktime

 

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Organ Pipe Cactus Overview/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus Facilities/NPS

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Organ Pipe Cactus Maps/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus Nearby Attractions/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus Permits/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus Weather/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus Accessibility/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus Activities/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus Facts/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus For Kids/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus Nature/NPS

Organ Pipe Cactus Plan Your Visit/NPS

Managing Agency:
National Park Service
10 Organ Pipe Drive
Ajo, AZ 85321-9626
Visitor Information
520-387-6849

 

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