Giant saguaro cacti in the Sonoran Desert

June 18, 2014

The American state of Arizona is famous for its attractions. Real wonders of nature - huge saguaro cacti are so unique that they are the pride of the United States.

The giant cactus flower is the state emblem of Arizona. This is how the Americans paid their respects to the unique plant.

What types of cacti are there?

Saguaro is a real record holder among its brothers. Its average height reaches 15 meters! In 1988, a cactus of incredible size was discovered in Arizona. The thorny giant reached a height of almost 18 meters.

Today the record belongs to a cactus that grows in the same place, in Arizona's Sonora, in Maricupa County. 3 meters in girth and 13.8 meters in height – these are the dimensions of this incredible plant. Carnegia gigantea is the scientific name of this plant.

There are a lot of similar giants in this desert. Their sizes are a little more modest. There are a small number of giant succulents in California and Mexico, but the main concentration is in Arizona.

The largest cactus in the world reaches a weight of almost 8 tons! Some plants are up to 150 years old!

Like many succulents, saguaros grow very slowly. Just 1 meter in the first 30 years of life - this is the growth rate of a young plant. Over the next 40-50 years, the cactus increases in height by 1mm every day.

By human standards, by old age (at 75 years), the sagurao reaches its gigantic size: a huge, thick trunk and many lateral processes are clearly visible from afar. One could live in this huge house, escaping the heat and drinking tequila extracted directly from the walls of a fantastic plant.

The saguaro flower is very delicate and beautiful. It blooms at night. Among the white petals are hundreds of stamens. Some of them are so large that small birds build nests between them. The first flowers appear only when this unusual plant is 50 years old.

Saguaro National Park

Unique giant ones grow only in the Sonoran Desert, which stretches from Arizona to Mexico. The state protects these unusual forests, where dense thorns are visible on the trees instead of leaves.

Since 1933, the desert territory has been a nature protection zone. Even when constructing roads or any structures, they take into account whether the construction will damage the natural attractions of the United States.

In 1994, it appeared, the basis of which is the territory of the Green Desert. This is what Sonora is called. This desert is radically different from other desert areas.

Yes, it is also very hot here, but at the same time, more than 30 cm of precipitation falls on this land per year. A variety of biological species, flowering plants coexist with sandy deposits.

49 species of cacti grow here. Diverse, dissimilar prickly desert inhabitants coexist with giant saguaros. These bizarre forms attract hundreds of thousands of tourists who want to see not only huge cacti, but also the unique world of the Green Desert. Desert tortoises, pumas, snakes, lizards, foxes, peccaries and other animals are found here.

Saguaro cacti of incredible size delight all visitors to Arizona. Tourists enjoy taking pictures next to the thorny giants.

Giant saguaro cacti in the Sonoran Desert photo