@downinnadesert: A saguaro with more than 30 arms has fallen at Catalina State Park north of Tucson. Park manager Steve Haas said the "granddaddy" cactus was one of the largest and most accessible in the 5,500-acre preserve. It had probably been growing on the slope above Montrose Wash for about 200 years. Sometime last month, its trunk snapped about three feet above the ground, and its water-laden arms spilled down the hillside above the park's Birding Trail. Haas first heard about it two or three weeks ago. The saguaro had been a landmark for decades. It could be seen from the park's main road and drew visitors from the nearby Romero Ruins Trail and the west end of the Birding Trail. "It's all part of the natural cycle, but it's still sad to see," Haas said. The cause hasn't been confirmed. Retired Saguaro National Park biologist Don Swann said photos from November 2025 show healthy arms and no sign of the bacterial decay that can kill a saguaro, so he suspects a powerful summer storm. He noted that a saguaro with that many large arms puts enormous weight on its base, and that this one snapped rather than leaned over. It fell less than a quarter mile from another giant that collapsed after a monsoon storm in August 2022. Haas said that one has since become habitat for insects and other animals as the desert breaks it down. Storms have taken saguaros elsewhere too: a 2023 blowdown knocked down or damaged about 1,200 in the Tucson Mountains District of Saguaro National Park, and Swann said a mid-September storm this year claimed 10 to 20 more nearby. Source: Arizona Daily Star #Arizona #Saguaro #CatalinaStatePark #Tucson #SonoranDesert

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Thursday 08 October 2026 20:00:00 GMT