Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
Location	Pima County, Arizona, USA
Nearest city	Ajo, AZ
Coordinates	31°57′14″N 112°48′03″W / 31.954°N 112.80095°W / 31.954; -112.80095Coordinates: 31°57′14″N 112°48′03″W / 31.954°N 112.80095°W / 31.954; -112.80095
Area	330,689 acres (133,825 ha)[1]
Established	April 13, 1937
Visitors	209,602 (in 2010)[2]
Governing body	National Park Service

Short video showing panoramas from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a U.S. National Monument and UNESCO biosphere reserve located in extreme southern Arizona which shares a border with the Mexican state of Sonora. The park is the only place in the United States where the Organ Pipe Cactus grows wild. Along with Organ Pipe, many other types of cacti, as well as other desert flora native to the Yuma Desert section of the Sonoran Desert region grow here. The Park is a beautiful preservation of the American Southwest.

Land for the graded through the Monument was donated by the Arizona state legislature to the federal government during Prohibition knowing that the north-south road would be improved and make contraband alcohol easier to import from Mexico. In 1937 the land was officially opened as a national monument.^[3]

At the north entrance of the park is the city of Why, Arizona; the town of Lukeville, Arizona, sits at the park's southern border. Lukeville is a border crossing point to Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.

On August 9, 2002, Ranger Kris Eggle was shot and killed by a suspected Mexican drug smuggler during a US Border Patrol operation. The visitor center has been named in his honor.

Gallery

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  An organ pipe cactus in the Monument.

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  Hedgehog cactus and brittlebush in bloom at the National Monument.

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  The Monument is also home to many saguaro cacti.

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  The Monument also contains a pair of natural arches.

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  Organ pipe cactus and antler at sunset.

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  Map of Organ Pipe and its designated wilderness

See also

• Bates Well Ranch, listed on the National Register of Historic Places within the park
• Dos Lomitas Ranch, also listed on the NRHP

References

1. ^ "Listing of acreage as of 12/31/2010". Public Use Statistic Office, National Park Service. http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/Acreage/acrebypark10cy.pdf. Retrieved 2011-06-30. 
2. ^ "Five Year Annual Recreation Visits Report". Public Use Statistic Office, National Park Service. http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/viewReport.cfm?selectedReport=SystemComparisonReport.cfm. Retrieved 2011-06-30. 
3. ^ "Listing of National Park System Areas by State". National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/nps/nps/part2.htm#orpi. Retrieved 2011-06-30. 

External links

• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Official U.S. National Park Service site.