Earth Notes

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.

Paleontologists exploring the Zuni Basin of western New Mexico in the 1990s uncovered a turtle fossil shell that was later determined to be an entirely new species.

Quicksand can form in rivers and washes across the Colorado Plateau. Conditions beneath the surface can create unstable ground and potential hazards.

An animal spread flat on its stomach, legs and feet extended, is exhibiting a behavior called “splooting.”

Jaguars are usually associated with the tropics of Central and South America, but historical records show they once prowled as far north as the South Rim of Grand Canyon.

How did Southwest Tribal people protect and store their food before the days of refrigeration?

April in northern Arizona is heralded by the loud metallic wing trills of broad-tailed hummingbirds returning from winter in the Highlands of Mexico and Central America.

Researchers in the Southwest are using hidden recorders to capture the fluted whistles of the pinyon jay. It’s part of a new effort to track ecological changes through sound.

Every spring, thousands of sheep were herded on a three-week trek across northern Arizona, up onto the Colorado Plateau for summer grazing.

A wildlife bridge on Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff could help guide elk, deer and other wildlife navigate the highway and cut down on collisions with cars and trucks.

Hat Ranch near Williams, Arizona has a layered history of conservation and public life.

Fremont cottonwoods form a ribbon of green along Arizona’s rivers and streams. They have heart-shaped leaves which turn golden in fall and fluffy, cotton-like seeds.