How many times have you traveled to Puerto Peñasco, passing by the turnoff to the Pinacate Federal Biosphere Reserve? Everyone has done it and thus ignored a unique natural wonder of the area. But on our last trip we didn't go by. Since we didn't have four-wheel drive, we weren't planning to go all the way in, but we decided to stop and find out what we could about the area. (One thing we found out is that four-wheel drive isn't necessary.)
We were lucky to see the Park Manager, Guillermo Lara Góngora; on previous occasions he hadn't been at the visitor center. He talked with us for quite a while and gave us a wealth of scientific, historical, and cultural information. It was amazing to learn that a site so interesting exists so close to Peñasco.
The Pinacate area is known for its desolate-looking terrain and giant craters. Many people are aware that NASA trained astronauts here in preparation for the Apollo moon voyages because the terrain is so similar. A map of the area shows 18 of the giant craters. According to Guillermo, 10 of these were formed from giant underground steam explosions that occurred up to 5 million years ago; they were equivalent in force to an atomic bomb. The oldest of the other craters are about 150,000 years old; the most recent only about 70,000. The largest crater, El Elegante, is 1 mile across and 750 feet deep.
Visitors can view some of these craters. They need to check in first at the Visitor Center; then they can drive in on a loop road (even without 4-wheel drive). There are only two campgrounds with picnic tables. The administration wants to keep the park in its natural state as much as possible. Limiting vehicles to the loop road protects wildlife and artifacts in the area.
Pinacate is the largest of 3 peaks of the Santa Clara Volcano. It is about 1.7 million years old.
The official name of this site is La Reserva de la Biosfera el Pinacate, Gran Desierto de Altar. It's a federally protected site, under the department called SINAP (Sistema Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas), which is the equivalent of the U.S. National Park Service. But unlike some national parks in the U.S., citizens are permitted to live and own land within its boundaries. There are two core zones where no activities are allowed; they are kept for research only. The rest is a buffer zone where people live. About 80% of the land is owned by ejidos (cooperatives); only about 20% is federal land. The residents are permitted to practice ranching, farming, and commerce, as long as they observe the regulations.
We found out from Guillermo that Pinacate is one of the oldest inhabited sites in this part of the world. Humans have lived here since at least 20,000 years ago, maybe as many as 40,000. At that time it wasn't a desert; the land had water that supported piñon and juniper trees and other flora and fauna. It's only been a desert for the last 8,000 or 9,000 years. The earliest dwellers were the San Dieguitos, then the Clovis, Hohokam, Pinacateños, and, most recently, relatives of the Tohono O'odham, the Hia Ced O'odham. Interestingly, although they live in other communities in Mexico, no Tohono O'odham live here now; the last one died in the 1930's. Reminders of these ancient peoples can be seen in geoglyphs (arrangements of stones), animal-shaped figures which can be seen from the air, and petroglyphs (rock carvings). Ancient trails of the Hohokam and Pinacateños can also be seen.
The area is very sparsely populated; only about 200 people live on 1.5 million acres. That's about .02 persons per sq. kilometer or .07 persons per square mile. Many of these people came from other states where farming and cattle ranching were profitable, and they have tried to continue those activities here, but the terrain isn't really suitable. The ancient Indians knew how to live in a sustainable way, but the population is now 10 times greater, and the land won't support that number. One of the goals of the Biosfera is to educate the residents to do something more appropriate. For example, the creosote plant that grows abundantly here has many pharmaceutical uses that might be turned into profit.
Which brings us to the organization and administration of the park. It is one of three sister reserves. One is Alto Golfo, which includes Puerto Peñasco as well as San Felipe directly across the gulf. Another takes in parts of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Texas. Pinacate also includes Organ Pipe Cactus and Cabeza Prieta National Parks in the U.S. These reserves are good examples of international collaboration. The Mexican and U.S. governments cooperate at the level of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Mexican SEMARNAP, as well as at the local level. The Biosfera also works closely with the state organization IMADES, Instituto de Medio Ambiente y el Desarollo Sustenable del Estado de Sonora. It was run by the state until 1986, when it was taken over by the federal government. In June 1993 it became a Federal reserve.
Pinacate is associated with the Sonoran Institute and the International Sonoran Desert Alliance. It has also worked closely with such U.S. organizations as U.S. AID and The Nature Conservancy. It has had some help from an organization called Parks in Peril, but the funding is about to run out. Guillermo would like to see a closer association with U.S. universities for scientific study. One U.S. scientist who has done a great deal of study here is Dr. James Goodman, a geologist from Wesleyan University.
Guillermo Lara, who comes from Mexico City, is the Manager of the Park. Under him are four departments: Administration, directed by Carlos, who is from Vercruz; Natural Resources Management, directed by Lourdes from Mazatlan; Law Enforcement, directed by Rocio from Michoacan; and Education, which has a director's position open right now, although there is an assistant director who works with visitors. (We apologize for failing to get the last names of these people.) In addition, there are 5 park rangers assigned to this station.
Many opportunities exist in the reserve for research and study--hundreds of geological and archaeological sites. In addition, indigenous flora and fauna provide material for biologists. We had a chance to observe one of the fauna in its natural state. As we were walking over to see the new building Guillermo wanted to show us, we saw a white desert iguana. It was quite large--about 8"-10" long and was an ivory color with light beige stripes around its upper body. As we approached, it did what looked like a series of rapid pushups. Guillermo, whose education and training are in herpetology, told us that was its way of marking its territory.
The building we went to look at is an Earthship, similar to the one at CEDO, in that it is built of old tires and aluminum cans, put together with concrete. This one is dug into the hillside behind the Visitor Center and consists of two large rooms, one with a small auditorium at the back. The roof is flat, and we recognized the material as Tridipanel. We learned that the park rangers are building this building in their spare time. When completed, which Guillermo expects will be by the end of this year, it will house an information center, a gift shop, and a natural history museum.
The Visitor Center doesn't have many visitors, only about 4,000-5,000 each year, but wants to attract more. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The telephone number is (638) 4-11-85. We noticed that the center has a cellular phone provided by TelCel where visitors and local residents can make phone calls. The rates are $1.50 pesos per minute for local calls to Puerto Peñasco, $4.50 per minute to other Mexican cities; $11 to the U.S. and Canada. Within a year the center expects to have a regular phone with a fax and access to the Internet.
We have yet to take our trip in to see the craters, but our stop at the visitor Center has whetted our appetite to do so. Look for the report of that trip in upcoming issues.
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