The Monument contains more than 496,000 acres of diverse Sonoran Desert landscape. The Sonoran Desert is the most biologically diverse of the North American deserts, and the monument captures a significant portion of that diversity. The most striking aspect of the plant community within the monument is the extensive saguaro cactus forest. The monument contains three distinct mountain ranges, the Maricopa, Sand Tank and Table Top Mountains, as well as the Booth and White Hills, all separated by wide valleys. The monument also contains three Congressionally designated wilderness areas and many significant archaeological and historic sites, and remnants of several important historic trails.
The Sonoran Desert National Monument is located at Lat N32.91676 Long W112.66754 just off of Interstate 8.
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Listed as California Historical Landmark No. 350, the St. Thomas Indian Mission, was dedicated in 1923. Mission was located on the California side of the Colorado River near where the Gila River joins the Colorado. Yes, we said California...sorry, it is in the Arizona section.
The first mission at Ft. Yuma was named Puerto de la Purísima Concepción, established in October of 1780 and was built by Father Francisco Garces.
On July 17, 1781, when the Spanish Padres, settlers, and soldiers at Concepción and at San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuner, 8 leagues down the Colorado river, were all massacred. The padre's body was removed to San Pedro de Tubutama where it was re-interred with all the honors due a fallen "Soldier of the Cross." And thus passed Tucson's founder. The mission/pueblo site was inadequately supported, the colonists ignored Indian rights, took the best lands, and destroyed Indian crops. Completely frustrated and disappointed, the Quechans (Yumas) destroyed Concepción on July 17-19, 1781.
Fort Yuma (1849-1885) became a U.S. military outpost in the 19th century and was revived as an active mission again in 1919. The current church, St. Thomas Indian Mission, shown in the following images was dedicated in 1923.
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