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The Fremont were ancient pueblo farmers of corn, beans and squash, as well as expert hunters and gatherers. By 1000 A.D. they had developed a highly sophisticated culture among the lush river valleys and forested canyons of their homeland.
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The ringtail can be tricky to see. They're the smaller cousins to raccoons and live in rocky habitats across the Southwest. With large rounded eyes and ears, they’re exceptionally well adapted for their elusive, nocturnal lifestyle.
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Four Mile Polychromes represent a Pueblo ceramic tradition with origins in the Mogollon Rim and mountains of eastern Arizona. This style was developed in the 13th century and is associated with the construction of large villages such as Pinedale, Show Low and Four Mile Pueblo, from which the ceramic is named.
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The Grand Canyon may look like an austere desert landscape, but in fact, it’s home to the largest concentration of waterfalls within the state of Arizona.
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Vast storm clouds wander the sky like roaming monoliths. Intense thunderstorms scour the desert and cool the land. Light shifts from piercing brilliance to dark and cataclysmic. Monsoon season is here. And with it, the plants and animals of the Colorado Plateau wake from slumber and come to life.
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White-nosed coatis are making tracks northward from their usual home on the US-Mexico border. They’ve been seen in the Verde Valley, along the Mogollon Rim, and occasionally in the Flagstaff area, including Walnut Canyon and the Rio de Flag.
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Navajo and other Indigenous peoples have inhabited the Colorado Plateau for many lifetimes, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the region’s tourist economy. Less than 1% of registered river guides in the United States are Indigenous. The first Navajo-owned river guiding company on the Navajo Nation is working to change that.
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It’s hundreds of thousands of miles from Arizona’s San Francisco Volcanic Field to the Moon. But strong ties bind these two places.
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The magnificent white lily-like flowers of the many Yucca plant species only grace us in the spring when the stars align. Yucca blooms often occur in alternating years depending on rainfall, temperature, and climate.
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This summer nearly five thousand weevils were released in the Pipeline Fire burn scar north of Flagstaff. No larger than a fingernail, they have elephant-like snouts and a black, metallic-blue complexion. The weevils were released with one purpose in mind: to control populations of invasive Dalmatian toadflax.
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Color, distance, and light all shape the human perception of the world. But what do other kinds of animals see?
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Lots of folks watch and list birds these days. But another activity is gaining attention—butterfly counts. Two are scheduled in national parks on the Colorado Plateau this month— July 8 at Bryce Canyon in Utah, and July 15 on the North Rim of Grand Canyon.