The Hualapai Mountains are a spectacular "Sky Island" range above the surrounding deserts of northeastern Arizona. Situated just southeast of Kingman, Arizona, they sit at the crossroads of 3 distinct desert regions - the northernmost extension of the Sonoran Desert (and the saguaro cactus), the eastern edge of the Mojave Desert, and just south of the Great Basin Desert. So, the flora from all those regions converge there, and for plant nerds like us, that means exceptional plant variety and more inspiration for our garden in Durango.
Hualapai Peak, at 8,417 feet
Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus
Echinocereus engelmannii
*This cactus grows well in our Durango yard.
Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus
Barrel Cactus
Echinocactus wislizenii
Barrel Cacti
Utah Agave
Agave utahensis
*This agave, and a number of it's subspecies, grows well (and so far, have survived for 4-5 years) in our Durango yard.
Photography by Lisa Bourey
Where are the Agave utahensis located? Ive hiked all over these mountains but never seen them there...
ReplyDeleteThe only ones we found were near the stone cabin (#1 in our case) we were staying in at the park. We stumbled across many when we explored above the adjacent creek drainage to the west, on the south-facing slopes that led north up to the adjacent low, rocky ridge.
ReplyDelete