Division: Tours

Title: Two Day Tour--Desert Pedology: Tucson to Phoenix AZ Sonoran Desert Landscapes and Watersheds

Lead Community Sponsor:
Cosponsor: SSSA Division: Pedology, SSSA Division: Urban and Anthropogenic Soils, SSSA Division: Wetland Soils
Community Cosponsor:
Format:
Keywords: Biosphere, Pedology, desert landscapes and wetlands

Session Description: This will be full 2-day tour in the Tucson to Phoenix area exploring Sonoran desert landscapes and the soil and water relationships that feed this unique ecological landscape.  We will start the tour in Tucson AZ.  We encourage participants to arrive in Tucson, AZ by Thursday evening Nov 3 for a short “meet and greet” as well as overview of the tour (University Marriott, Tucson AZ).  We will join our bus early Friday morning November 4 to travel to ASARCO(American Smelting And Refining Company) Mission mine, an open-pit copper mine south of Tucson.  The current pit, 2.5 miles long by 1.5 mile wide and 1,200 feet deep, is situated on 20,000 acres. Benches are 40 feet high. In the afternoon we will visit Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed, Tombstone AZ for the rest of the day to see soils, wetlands and desert landscapes. Dinner on your own upon returning to Tucson. Saturday morning, November 5, we will be back on the bus at sunrise to go to Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson AZ; visit Biosphere 2 in Oracle AZ for the afternoon and end the Tour in Phoenix at the Convention Center by 5PM. The tour includes 2 nights lodging(double or single occupancy)(Nov 3-4, 2016) in Tucson, AZ, field lunches, snacks and refreshments and transport to field sites and Tucson to Phoenix routing.(Participants must start their tour in Tucson, AZ arranging own transport from Phoenix AZ on Thursday Nov 3, 2016.)

CEUs available