El Pinacate biosphere mysteries explored
PUERTO PEÑASCO, Son - A great natural treasure not far from Yuma is the Pinacate and Grand Desert Biosphere Reserve, a crater-filled desert landscape located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Puerto Peñasco on the road to Sonoyta, Son.
The state of Sonora offers local residents as well as visitors the opportunity to discover the great mysteries of this scorching hot region of North America and all the flora and fauna that can be found living there.
A place that offers great hikes, scientific investigations and even scenery for films, El Cerro del Pinacate borders Sonoyta, several miles away from the international border and the coastal highway that connects Puerto Peñasco to San Luis Rio Colorado.
In El Pinacate, tourists can take a simple weekend camping trip with the family or in groups, always accompanied by an experienced guide or someone who is familiar with the reserve.
For a small fee, visitors with a four-wheel-drive vehicle can enter the biosphere and see cinder cones, volcanoes or craters as well as spend the night in camping areas.
Activities at the reserve, where the main mission is to preserve the ecosystem and promote local sustainable development, include hikes during the day, camping and photography or video.
Managed by the federal government of Mexico through the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, El Pinacate became a reserve through a presidential decree on June 10, 1993, based on the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection.
Among the main activities hikers can enjoy is the view offered when standing on a moonlike landscape several miles in length. It is the Santa Clara Volcano and the Sierra El Pinacate. Ten rare craters dominate the landscape, along with 400 giant lava cones, the biggest dune field in North America and granite mountains that are among the oldest in the area.
Lucky visitors may be able to see one of the 245 insect and animal species in the area or one of the 560 plants, nine of which are native to the area as well as one animal, the El Pinacate chameleon.
Also, there are more than 63 plants and animals that are protected. Among them are the Sonoran pronghorn, borrego cimarrón (bighorn sheep) and cactus.
Visitors can also see prehistoric culture at the San Dieguito complex with ruins more than 20,000 years old.
There are remains of other cultures such as the Amargosa and the Hia’ced O’odham, which were the precursors to the O’odham, as well as being the destination of Jesuit expeditions and great discoveries.
Once visitors hike one of the cones, they can see beautiful views of the Sonoran Desert, the volcanic floor, gigantic craters, ash tubes, lava, sand dunes and the Gulf of California. Before entering the biosphere, visitors must register at the Biology Station, where they receive information and recommendations from the station's staff, as well as park rangers who patrol the area.
Without a doubt, the biggest attractions are the maar craters such as the Cerro Colorado, Celaya, El Grande (Sykes), El Verdugo (McDougal), Kino, El Badillo, El Trébol and El Elegante. Maar is a German word for a crater lake.
Among the animal species tourists can find are hares, pronghorns, wild boars, coyotes, gray foxes, mountain cats, deer and borrego cimarrónes (bighorn sheep). These mammals have adapted to their environment with excellent camouflage and in order to detect them, one must look carefully and from a safe distance.
To see the birds that inhabit the region - such as the red-tailed hawk, orioles, cardinals, white-winged doves, sparrows, shrikes, woodpeckers, killdeer, golden eagles, vultures and quail - visitors must be patient and wait in silence.
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