Earth Notes

Paintbrush wildflowers have a secret: They steal nutrients from neighboring plants. But these “vampire plants” may actually help their plant communities thrive.

Should you rake up those fallen leaves — or let them be? How yard waste can benefit your garden and the environment.

Why does the autumn leaf display seem especially brilliant some years?

The Grandview Hotel was once the premier hub for early Grand Canyon tourism.

An abiding question among geologists is when was the Grand Canyon carved? When did the Colorado River assume its present course and become the master sculptor of the canyon?

Every hunting season since 1998, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has asked hunters to bring them elk and deer heads to test for chronic wasting disease.

More than eight decades ago, pioneering Museum of Northern Arizona geologist Major L.F. Brady made a surprising find in sedimentary rocks high up on the east flank of Mt. Elden.

A tiny cactus that survives intense wildfire could offer clues about the resilience of ecosystems on the Colorado Plateau.

The spiral pattern in a sunflower’s seeds isn’t random. It follows a mathematical sequence that appears throughout the natural world.

Monsoon rains bring a torrent of colors to the Colorado Plateau. Yellow sunflowers emerge beside purple asters, blush-colored penstemons, and mauve lupine.

Annual meteor showers like the Perseids can give lovely shooting star displays – but they don’t produce meteorites. That’s because the tiny particles involved are made of fluffy, low-density clay-like material which burn up before reaching the ground.

On the evening of October 9, 1946, members of the Kaibab Trail crew at the Grand Canyon National Park were watching the sky during a meteor shower caused by the trail of Comet Giacobini-Zinner.

New research shows a small change in where homes are built could make a big difference for wildlife like elk, mule deer and pronghorn.

Ancient agave plants are helping researchers uncover clues about the people who lived in the Southwest more than 1,000 years ago.

That unmistakable smell after rain has a name: petrichor. It's been signaling the arrival of rain for millions of years.

Magpies have earned a bad rap as the bully in the birdyard — some even call them the birds everyone loves to hate. But the often-misunderstood magpie may deserve a little more credit than they get.

The barrel cactus won’t slake your thirst on a hot desert day. It’s named for its stout shape, not its contents.

In the 1980s Coconino National Forest established three designated ‘Quiet Areas.' Recently renamed ‘Seasonal Closures’ they’re intended to provide serene recreational spaces free from motorized traffic at certain times of the year.

How will future inhabitants on Mars and the Moon get their veggies? Northern Arizona University doctoral candidate Laura Lee has been seeking the answer to that question.

A project below Glen Canyon Dam is targeting invasive smallmouth bass that threaten native fish in the Colorado River.

The Bradford pear was one of the most widely planted ornamental trees in North America. But it's now largely considered invasive and outlawed in several states.

High summer temperatures make Flagstaff’s thin air feel even thinner. Density altitude affects your body, turning a simple mountain hike into a tough physical workout.

The San Francisco Peaks volcanic system includes some tiny residents — small, rare plants that grow in difficult terrain. Citizen scientists are trying to document them.

Have you ever noticed a large, fuzzy, brightly-colored ant moving rapidly along the ground? Commonly called velvet ants, these aren’t ants at all. They’re actually wingless wasps.

Three decades ago, the use of cloud seeding to enhance precipitation over the region was tested as part of a large field experiment.