Yet the harsh terrain of the surrounding Sonoran Desert sustains a remarkable variety of flora and fauna admirably adapted to conditions, such as clusters of towering
saguaro cacti that combine defensive hostility with procreative beauty.
Nathanson suggests that the city may even want to consider a preference for aesthetically disguised cell towers, such as the faux palm trees and
saguaro cacti that have sprung up during recent years in the Southwest.
Dubbed by the National Golf Foundation as the "Golf Capital of the World," the Phoenix area offers everyting from challenging desert courses among
saguaro cacti to oasis-style golf among tree-lined fairways.
Lower Sonoran Zone As you near the bottom of the canyon (especially at the western end), you enter a desert landscape where scorpions and rattlesnakes lurk and owls perch atop tall
Saguaro cacti.
There were stockyards that could be smelled miles away if one were downwind, and
saguaro cacti with their arms beckoning one farther west.
Long-nosed bats of the Southwest pollinate and disperse seeds of important plants including agave and organ pipe and
saguaro cacti.
Later,
saguaro cacti danced, their shifting arms and elongated bodies conveying an awkward, mesmerizing grace.
As an example, one of the prize winners in the American Express Geography Competition was an in-depth project by four seventh graders to determine whether Arizona laws protecting
saguaro cacti and ironwood were sufficiently strict.
In addition, colorful coral reef fishes, giant
saguaro cacti, magnificent elephant herds, and many other plants and animals lure millions of tourist dollars to otherwise destitute regions.
