Latest Stories

Jonathan Buford grew up in Ohio, but after he moved to Arizona in the early 2000s, he fell in love with the concept of wilderness — and with landscape photography. Those two passions merged in his years-long effort to visit and photograph all 90 of Arizona’s federally designated wilderness areas, a small portion of which are...

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo of the Day

Photographer: Sue Cullumber

Photo Contest

The 2023 Adventures in Nature student photo contest is now open to Arizona students ages 13-18.

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In Depth

Don’t look down,” I mutter to myself as I look down. My stomach plummets at the dizzying view, and a chill shoots to my feet. I’m standing on a sloped, gravelly trail, inches from a 400-plus-foot plunge. Below, more sheer strata and screes descend like a wedding cake. My 40-pound backpack scrapes the rust-hued cliff, on my left, that rises 2,000 feet toward a dark-turquoise sky. In the distance, the “V”-shaped canyon below me opens to an immense, butte-studded landscape hiding the Colorado River in its depths. An obsidian raven floats past on a gentle updraft, its wings reflecting iridescent blue in the November Arizona sun.

I’m hiking Grand Canyon National Park’s Nankoweap Trail, an unmaintained 11-mile route that winds like a rattlesnake from the North Rim to the Colorado River. It drops nearly a vertical mile from the trailhead (7,640 feet) to the Colorado (2,760 feet). Just to reach that trailhead, at the national park boundary, requires an additional hike of 3 or 3.5 miles, depending on your route, through the rugged Saddle Mountain Wilderness. I’ve reached the...

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Photograph by Richard L. Danley

History, Nature & Culture

History

In a city that’s seen so many changes over the years, it’s hard to say what part of town has changed the most. South Phoenix would be on the list. In the 1950s, the landscape...

PHOTOGRAPH: ARIZONA HIGHWAYS ARCHIVES

Nature

Gambel’s quail (Callipepla gambelii) are found across Arizona and are well adapted to survive in the desert. The plump little birds, which are characterized by feathery...

Photograph by Bruce D. Taubert

Culture

If you’re too young to remember, or if maybe the ’70s are just a blur, here’s some of what was happening back in February 1974: The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand...

Photograph by Jerry Jacka

OUR SPONSORS

Tucked between Arizona’s two most populated cities of Phoenix and Tucson, Pinal County is a convenient escape from the...

WILLCOX The historic district features the Willcox Commercial, Arizona’s oldest continually operating store, where...

Millions of people visit Arizona every year, and for good reason. From the iconic Grand Canyon to world-class resorts,...

There are many ways to spend your tax refund. This year, why not choose to do something especially meaningful for...