5 Shocking Facts about Arizona’s Saguaro Cactus. Did You Know These?
What's your favorite state?
For me, Arizona is in my top five. I love Arizona's dry desert! It's probably because the landscape is so different from what I grew up with on the east coast.
So when we got the chance to fly cross-country to Tucson, Arizona two weeks ago for an RVer’s Escapade, I couldn't wait! I was pinning desert photos weeks in advance.
I was so excited to be beneath AZ's glorious pastel desert sunsets. And, be in the midst of cactus forests!
But, when we raced into the desert in Tucson's Sabino Canyon, I was shocked.
Look how big these cacti are! We're so tiny in comparison!
We hadn't seen these big guys in other parts of Arizona before. So, I did some research.
Here are five shocking facts I learned about Arizona’s Saguaro Cactus.
Did you know these?
1. It’s the largest cactus in the US and it can grow to 70 feet tall!
That’s taller than a 5 story building!
2. They can weigh up to 6 tons!
Okay, let me do some quick calculations.
1 ton = 2,000 pounds
Our camper (Bernadette) = 2,000 pounds
1 Saguaro cactus = 6 Bernadette's!
That means one of these cactus’ can weigh up to six Bernadette’s!
Now, that's a heavy load!
3. They only start growing arms or branches when they’re 50 to 70 years old.
In even drier areas, they may not grow arms until they’re 100 years old!
Here are some young bucks in the front right without arms and there's some old geezers in the back left with- let's count them- at least five arms! I wonder how old those old ones are?
4. They normally live to be 150-175 years old!
Some are as old as 200 years! That means they’re almost as old as the United States of America (we’re 240 years old!)
More calculations: So, 200 years multiplied by 365 days per year...
That means, the oldest of these cacti have been standing in the same spot for 73,000 days! Can you imagine?
I wonder how old these two are?
The left one seems to have extra growths.
Side note: Talking about old...
When we were in Tucson, we also visited San Xavior Mission del Bac. It's the oldest intact building in Arizona. The mission has been standing in the same spot since 1797 and has been a part of three different countries since then! Now, that's some history.
Okay, back to the final cool cactus fact.
5. You can only find Saguaro Cacti in the Sonoran Desert.
So, get plans going to adventure Tucson. Make sure to visit these three awesome Tucson spots while you're there.
You can also see the Saguaro Cactus in Southern California or Northern Mexico.
These facts are crazy right? I had no idea! I kept telling whoever I could find around me- "Did you know...?" and "Did you know...?"
Share these facts with your friends and see if they're surprised, too!
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