A project I've set for myself for the coming winter is to visit and photograph naturally-growing saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea) in California. There's a sparse population in the Whipple Mtns. that appears to be easily accessible, although a report on elf owls in Calif. from 1987 says the plants are "visibly disturbed" and of "poor quality." A few plants are visible in Googe Earth's street-level views.
A population of saguaros reported in the early 20th Cent. from north of Laguna Dam in Imperial Co. (C. B. Wolf in 1931) has apparently been extirpated. Joseph Grinnell in 1914 reported a rather large population on the Calif. side of the Colorado River near Laguna Dam, but they were destroyed by inundation from the dam. Some websites allege saguaros grow in the Picacho State Recreation Area, but the state's website and .pdf brochure say nothing about them, even though they deign to mention beavertail cacti (Opuntia basilaris).
The surprise to me from online research is discovering that there are saguaros in the Palo Verde Mountains Wilderness, northeastern Imperial Co. The BLM's website says they "dot" the southeastern part of the wilderness. Although the wilderness itself is fairly easily reached, I have a strong suspicion that the plants themselves are accessible only with difficulty.
Has anyone here: (1) visited naturally-growing saguaros in Calif., and, if so, where?; (2) visited the Palo Verde Mountains Wilderness under any circumstances; (3) seen naturally-growing saguaros anywhere in Calif. outside the Whipple Mtns. Note that saguaros in places like Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree and Palm Desert are planted.
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
ccrouletOriginal Author
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cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
ccrouletOriginal Author