Sandstone buttes reach skyward in the Navajo Nation’s Monument Valley, as viewed from Hunts Mesa. | Derek von Briesen
Breathing Space
I’ve always believed that if you could see something, you could get there. In the Southwest, that’s a tricky proposition. That mountain or mesa ahead of you is probably on the other side of countless…
Chevelon Canyon begins at the confluence of Woods Canyon and Willow Springs Canyon drainag es, treed areas pockmarked by limestone outcroppings. | Nick Berezenko
How We Found the Lost Forts of Chevelon Canyon
Photographer Nick Berezenko and I were intrigued by the secret in the book I'd found. It told of two fortified pueblos on Chevelon Creek in northern Arizona dating from 800 years ago. But the…
A hiker admires the view from Hole-in-the-Rock, the centerpiece of present-day Papago Park in Phoenix and Tempe, in an undated postcard photo. The site became Papago Saguaro National Monument in 1914, but it lost that designation less than two decades later. | Phoenix Public Library
The Land of Lost Opportunity
In 1932, L.C. Bolles proclaimed himself a “press agent for Paradise” in the pages of this magazine. To Bolles — a road engineer, history buff, and student of archaeology with outlandish ideas —…
Mexican goldpoppies and lupines decorate a meadow dotted with teddy bear chollas in the Black Mountains of Western Arizona. This location is near the old mining town of Oatman, now a tourist destination known for its free-roaming burros. | Claire Curran
Spring to Life
Brittlebush flowers reach skyward from a sea of their brethren at San Tan Mountain Regional Park, southeast of Phoenix. In addition to spring blooms, this 10,000-acre…
Backlit cottonwoods define a view of Central Arizona’s Fossil Creek. Once an omnipresent sight along the state’s waterways, cottonwoods now occupy a fraction of their former habitat — a result, scientists say, of increased water use and climate change. | Derek von Briesen
We Might Be Up a Tree
W‌hen Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado and his men traveled north from Mexico in 1540 into what would later be called Arizona, they were searching for fabled cities of gold. But…
The rising sun illuminates a blooming ocotillo and prickly pear cactuses along the Sedona area’s Teacup Trail. Ocotillos typically bloom in the spring but may also do so in response to summer rainfall. | Laura Zirino
The Nerve of Mother Nature …
Fittonia albivenis is native to South America — to places such as Ecuador and Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil. Indigenous tribes in these places use the plant’s leaves as a salve for headaches and…
Tall cottonwoods and flowering plants reach toward the steep sandstone walls of Paria Canyon, a remote destination in Northern Arizona. Known for its hiking opportunities, the canyon is part of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. By Jack Dykinga
Colors: The Music of the Eyes
Editor’s Note: In the final installment of our centennial salute, we present an essay by Jack Foster, who ranks as one of the very best writers we’ve ever published — he…
Bird's-eye view of a waterfall in Boynton Canyon, near Sedona is by Mark Frank.
This Is My Story … by Mark Frank
I’m a retired landscape architect, so when I’m composing a photo, I often think about the rules of design. That was the case for this image. I’ve spent a lot of time hiking and photographing in and…