Mind boggling... no testing wells and now a bigger tailings pond
BY MILTON MARTÍNEZ, MAY 9, 2019
TAHUICHOPA, Son. (apro) - The mining company Grupo México minimized the public consultation of residents of Bacanuchi, in the municipality of Arizpe, Sonora, to continue with the project of the new tailings dam that is already in operation.
On August 7, 2014 ten million gallons of a mining wastewater solution broke through containment at the Buenavista copper mine just outside of Cananea, Sonora. The sulfuric acid solution was released into the Rio Bacanuchi, a tributary of Rio Sonora, one of the largest watersheds in Sonora.
Trip supported by Maricopa Audubon Society to inventory birds and plants of the area. Trip report available here.
Devil’s Canyon is located in Pinal County Arizona a few miles east of Superior in the Globe Ranger District of the Tonto National Forest. The area is extremely rugged with deep canyons, rocky ridges, and uplands dominated by large boulders and towering spires. Pyroclastic welded tuft is the most common substrate throughout the area and creates beautiful cliffs, arches, and towers.
Devil’s Canyon is located in Pinal County Arizona approximately 6 km east of the town of Superior in the Globe Ranger District of the Tonto National Forest. The area is generally rugged with deep canyons and is defined by its complex rock formations. Portions of Devil’s Canyon have stretches of large and dense riparian growth that support a high diversity of breeding birds and other wildlife.
The Dolores Mine is a large gold and silver mine in the upper Rio Aros/Yaqui watershed just across the Sonoran border in Chihuahua. These photo are taken by Roger Featherstone from a small plane.
Sonora is rich in minerals and precious metals and is facing threats of new and bigger mines regularly. Sonora is the top state for mining in all of México.
This cactus has a very limited distribution and is an Endangered Species. It survives in a narrow elevational zone from the upper Sonoran Desert into the Chapparal (sometimes Madrean Evergreen Woodland) that occurs in its range. Its range covers areas east of Superior, AZ in Gila and Pinal counties.
Here is a selection of photos of individual Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. arizonicus (Arizona Hedgehog) cactus, all taken in the wild.
