Oak/Juniper Savanna in southeastern Arizona by Mary Nichols

This image was taken on the hottest day of the year (so far). As I posted this the temperature in Tucson was 106 F. Many of the oak trees appear dead, likely the results of several consecutive days of hard freeze in combination with drought conditions.

In February 2011, Tucson experienced record low temperatures (18 F) and as of the time of this posting had not received any measurable precipitation in 74 days. The lack of rain and dry standing fuel make fire a constant threat.

The return of monsoon rains is still a few weeks away, but when the rains return this site should green up and we will see which oaks are alive.

June is a very difficult month for plant identification, especially in the herbaceous understory, which is much easier in October after the rainy season. This site is a north facing slope.

I did see several Stellar Jays, and a hummingbird flew by the Gigapan, but otherwise everything was still, except for a light breeze.

Link to an image of a fire burning in the Chiracahua Mountains to the east:
www.gigapan.org/gigapans/79717/
Link to a view of a burned grassland a few miles south of this image:
www.gigapan.org/gigapans/76168/