Saguaro National Park

Photo: License: 1

The park was established as Saguaro National Monument on March 1, 1933 and changed to a national park on October 14, 1994. The total area of Saguaro National Park in 2002 was 143 square miles (370 km²) of which 111 square miles.

The Saguaro, pronounced "suh-wah-roh", (Carnegiea gigantea) is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

Saguaro National Park is divided into two sections, lying approximately 20 miles (32 km) east and 15 miles (24 km) west of the center of the city of Tucson, Arizona.

The park was established as Saguaro National Monument on March 1, 1933 and changed to a national park on October 14, 1994.