Many desert and mountain plants yielded materials for construction, tools, weapons, clothing, containers and campfires. Wild fruits, seeds, nuts and roots, both from the desert and the mountains, supplemented Hohokam agricultural crops as food sources. The land served as both commissary and general store for the Hohokam people. Because of the higher altitude of the Colorado Plateau as much as several thousand feet above the desert basins annual rainfall averages about 20 inches. Annual rainfall averages less than four inches, and summer temperatures frequently reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit.Īlong the slopes of the Mogollon Rim (which extends from southeast to northwest for nearly 200 miles across the heart of Arizona) and the Hohokam corner of the Colorado Plateau, open ponderosa pine forests with a carpet of grass stand in powerful contrast to the thorny desert basins to the south. In the open valley floors, creosote, mesquites, various cholla species and beavertail cactus command the landscape. Along the lower slopes and in the washes, screw-bean mesquite, blue palo verde, bur sage, ocotillo and cholla characterize the plant community. On the upper reaches of the bajadas, the saguaro stands guard over barrel cactus, hedgehog cactus, teddybear cholla, desert agave and desert ironwood. Small to medium-sized bushes cling tenaciously to scattered footholds down the slopes and across the desert floor. Plants grow sparsely on the rocky mountain crests. To the west, in the low desert country which descends to sea level at the mouth of the Colorado River, small mountain ranges lie like elongated islands within the desert basins. Temperatures in May through September often exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the rain falls during two periods, mid-winter and mid-summer. Annual rainfall in the region ranges from some 30 inches at the highest elevations to less than 10 inches in the lower elevations. In desert flats, creosote, mesquite and acacia assume preeminent roles.
Cottonwood, sycamore, walnut and ash trees grow along washes. Lower, the saguaro dominates growths of mesquite, paloverde, cholla and bitter condalia. Along the upper parts of the bajadas, the statuesque columnar cactus, the saguaro, presides over a diverse plant community which includes, for instance, acacia, jojoba, triangle-leaf bursage and prickly pears. Typically, just above the mountain debris slopes, or bajadas, grasses and then desert scrubs signify the transition from forested lands to the Sonoran Desert. Pines and aspens, pines and oaks, and oaks and chaparral dominate the intermediate elevations. In the mountain ranges, which trend from north northwest to south southeast, spruce and fir dominate the highest elevations. In the basin and range area of southeastern Arizona and northeastern Sonora, mountain peaks reach elevations of more than 10,000 feet above sea level, and valley floors lie at elevations as low as 500 feet above sea level. At its maximum, their range extended from the basin and range and the low desert country of northern Sonora and southern Arizona northward up the famed Mogollon Rim escarpment and onto the Colorado Plateau’s southwestern edge. Like the Mogollon to the east, the Hohokam occupied a geologically and ecologically diverse region. They set their cultural sails to Mesoamerican winds. They raised new standards in artistry, innovation and craftsmanship. In between, the Hohokam made the Sonoran Desert bloom. 1450 seems to have materialized from a void and vanished into darkness. The Hohokam tradition, which spanned some 1450 years from early in the first millennium to A. Native Americans - Farmers Of The Desert The Hohokam
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