Earth Notes

Three decades ago, the use of cloud seeding to enhance precipitation over the region was tested as part of a large field experiment.

Paleontologists exploring the Zuni Basin of western New Mexico in the 1990s uncovered a turtle fossil shell that was later determined to be an entirely new species.

An animal spread flat on its stomach, legs and feet extended, is exhibiting a behavior called “splooting.”

Quicksand can form in rivers and washes across the Colorado Plateau. Conditions beneath the surface can create unstable ground and potential hazards.

Jaguars are usually associated with the tropics of Central and South America, but historical records show they once prowled as far north as the South Rim of Grand Canyon.

How did Southwest Tribal people protect and store their food before the days of refrigeration?

April in northern Arizona is heralded by the loud metallic wing trills of broad-tailed hummingbirds returning from winter in the Highlands of Mexico and Central America.

Researchers in the Southwest are using hidden recorders to capture the fluted whistles of the pinyon jay. It’s part of a new effort to track ecological changes through sound.

Every spring, thousands of sheep were herded on a three-week trek across northern Arizona, up onto the Colorado Plateau for summer grazing.

A wildlife bridge on Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff could help guide elk, deer and other wildlife navigate the highway and cut down on collisions with cars and trucks.

Hat Ranch near Williams, Arizona has a layered history of conservation and public life.

Fremont cottonwoods form a ribbon of green along Arizona’s rivers and streams. They have heart-shaped leaves which turn golden in fall and fluffy, cotton-like seeds.

Route 66 is known for roadside history, but the landscape also holds older signs of passage and human movement.

Artificial light including flames have been known to attract moths and many other flying insects at night for centuries. Earliest written records of the behavior date back to the Roman Empire.

If you look toward the eastern horizon just before dawn on a clear, moonless night, you should see a ghostly white glow shining up through the dark sky.

Coyotes and badgers are well-known predators of the American wilderness. What is not well known is that these two species, normally competing for the same prey, sometimes become hunting partners.

Saguaro survival is now being challenged at all elevations by climate change.

Ancestral Puebloan peoples developed ingenious methods to collect, store, conserve, and utilize water.

The marvels of the Grand Canyon extend beyond its dramatic scenery. Underground, vast cave systems hold clues to the region’s future climate.

Ancestral Pueblo people began making turkey feather blankets about 1,800 years ago, coinciding with the transition to settled agricultural life.

House finches are a familiar sight in northern Arizona, but their path to the West is a story of human introduction and adaptation.

Some things can only be found if you know exactly where to look. The Peebles Navajo Cactus, at less than 3 centimeters tall, doesn’t seem to want to be found. Its thorny spines mimic surrounding grit so closely, it nearly disappears into the sand.