Papago Spring
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
Papago Spring
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
Papago Mountain in the spring, Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, Arizona.
The Desert Botanical Garden is a 140 acres outdoor garden located at in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded by the Arizona Cactus and Native Flora Society in 1937 and established in 1939. The garden now has more than 21,000 plants, one-third of which are native to the area, including 139 rare, threatened or endangered species. There are many rich collections of agave and cacti, but plants from less extreme climate conditions are protected under shade houses. The garden focuses on plants adapted to desert conditions, including an Australian, Baja California and South American collection. Several ecosystems are represented: a mesquite bosque, semidesert grassland, and upland chaparral. The Desert Botanical Garden has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.
The distinctive red sandstone geological formations of Papago Park were formed some 6-15 million years ago. One such formation, Hole-in-the-Rock, is a major landmark, thanks to the openings eroded in the formation over time. There is some evidence that the Hohokam - a now-extinct aboriginal tribe that once lived in the Phoenix area - used the openings and sunlight to track the solstices.
Papago Park was designated a reservation for the local Maricopa and Pima tribes of aboriginal Americans in 1879. It became the Papago-Saguaro National Monument in 1914, but this status was recalled by Congress, April 7, 1930, because the area was not considered suitable for a national monument. It was divided throughout the state of Arizona, the city of Tempe and the Water Users Association, later known as the Salt River Project. Federal Government reserved all oil, coal or other mineral rights.
During World War II, the park housed a POW camp and contained as many as 3,100 prisoners from 1942 to 1944. It was also the site of the largest mass escape from any United States prison camp in World War II. The Great Papago Escape occurred on December 23, 1944 when 25 prisoners, including German U-boat commander J'rgen Wattenberg, escaped the camp using a 178-foot tunnel and made their way to the Arizona desert. Many prisoners quickly realized that they knew nothing about the landscape or climate and turned themselves back in. Wattenberg was the last to be captured, on January 28, 1945.
Some digital effects were applied to the original image after the photograph was made. No electrons were harmed during the transition. Your finished photograph will not contain the watermark.
Image copyright 2022 Jon Burch Photography.
Uploaded
April 17th, 2022
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