Leisure Time Physical Activity
at Public Open Spaces
A Comparative Analysis of Physical Activity Levels in a Designated Recreational Park Versus a Designated Open Space in the Tucson Mountain Ridge:
A Closer Look at Sentinel Peak and Tumamoc Hill Users.
A Closer Look at Sentinel Peak and Tumamoc Hill Users.
| Pilot Study Description |
(The following temporary content is taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumamoc_Hill)
Tumamoc Hill
(O'odham: Cemamagĭ Doʼag) at 3108 feet, is located west of downtown Tucson, Arizona and is home to many radio, television, and public safety transmitters. The University of Arizona (UA) owns a 340-acre (1.4 km2) preserve and leases another 509 acres (2.06 km2) as a research and education facility. The Steward Observatory maintains a small astronomical observatory with a 20-inch (510 mm) telescope on the hill. Besides being a prominent landmark, Tumamoc Hill has a long and varied history, and is currently an important site for ecological and anthropological research as well as a refuge and an opportunity for the people of Tucson. For more information, visit: tumamoc.org and Tumamoc Walkers.
(O'odham: Cemamagĭ Doʼag) at 3108 feet, is located west of downtown Tucson, Arizona and is home to many radio, television, and public safety transmitters. The University of Arizona (UA) owns a 340-acre (1.4 km2) preserve and leases another 509 acres (2.06 km2) as a research and education facility. The Steward Observatory maintains a small astronomical observatory with a 20-inch (510 mm) telescope on the hill. Besides being a prominent landmark, Tumamoc Hill has a long and varied history, and is currently an important site for ecological and anthropological research as well as a refuge and an opportunity for the people of Tucson. For more information, visit: tumamoc.org and Tumamoc Walkers.
Human history
Tumamoc Hill was a home to the ancient Hohokam people. It is the site of the earliest known trincheras village, consisting of 160 foundations of round stone structures. Hundreds of petroglyphs and a prehistoric garden beside the hill provide further evidence of Tumamoc’s importance to these mysterious people. Even after these ancient inhabitants moved away (about 1,300 years ago), the site continued to provide resources to the Tohono O'odham, Akimel O'odham, and the Hopi. It has also been reported to be a burial site for Apache and Papago.
European settlers prized the rock and clay found on the hill for building in the late 19th century, and early ecologists just after the turn of the 20th century selected it for the site of the Carnegie Institute's Desert Laboratory.[1][2] The hill continues to be a landmark and a sanctuary for the people of Tucson today. The road up Tumamoc Hill is a popular destination for walking and running. It is open to pedestrians in the early mornings and evenings. The steep hill provides a strenuous workout. Lectures on the unique history and ecology are presented for the public at the site.
Tumamoc Hill was a home to the ancient Hohokam people. It is the site of the earliest known trincheras village, consisting of 160 foundations of round stone structures. Hundreds of petroglyphs and a prehistoric garden beside the hill provide further evidence of Tumamoc’s importance to these mysterious people. Even after these ancient inhabitants moved away (about 1,300 years ago), the site continued to provide resources to the Tohono O'odham, Akimel O'odham, and the Hopi. It has also been reported to be a burial site for Apache and Papago.
European settlers prized the rock and clay found on the hill for building in the late 19th century, and early ecologists just after the turn of the 20th century selected it for the site of the Carnegie Institute's Desert Laboratory.[1][2] The hill continues to be a landmark and a sanctuary for the people of Tucson today. The road up Tumamoc Hill is a popular destination for walking and running. It is open to pedestrians in the early mornings and evenings. The steep hill provides a strenuous workout. Lectures on the unique history and ecology are presented for the public at the site.
History of ecological research
Frederick V. Colville, chief botanist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1903 convinced the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund the creation of a Desert Laboratory near the small mining and ranching town of Tucson. The goal was to study desert adaptations of plants in hopes of increasing agricultural output of the desert. Among the pioneering researchers, who helped to shape the then-developing field of ecology in the United States, were William Cannon, Volney M. Spaulding, Daniel T. MacDougal, Burton Livingston, Godfrey Sykes, and Forrest Shreve. This research continued until the 1940s, during which time the scientists there were instrumental in the development of the field of ecology in the United States. They began publishing a journal, Plant World, which later became the major journal Ecology.
Due to financial difficulties from the Great Depression, as well as a disconnect between the Carnegie Institute’s mission of making use of the desert and the researchers’ admiration of it, the Carnegie Institute turned the Desert Laboratory over to the Forest Service in 1940. They initially offered it to the University of Arizona for $1, but were turned down. Twenty years later, on July 20, 1960, after several easements and loss of research and records, the University purchased the reserve for considerably more.
Terah “Ted” Smiley, Paul Martin, and Ray Turner were some of the researchers through the 1960s, 1970’s and 1980’s who returned to the remaining plots which had been set up to monitor vegetation. Jay Quade, Bob Webb, Julio Betancourt, Jan Bowers, and Betsy Pierson have continued using Tumamoc Hill to study the vegetation and ecology of the Sonoran Desert. Today, Larry Venable directs research on Tumamoc Hill. Michael Rosenzweig is director of Tumamoc: People & Habitats program.
The long term observations and experiments on Tumamoc Hill’s vegetation have provided insights on saguaro boom and bust population dynamics, blue palo verde’s dependence on riparian areas, disease and other threats to desert tortoises, and the interactions of a community of small winter annuals and the insects and rodents that prey on their seeds
Frederick V. Colville, chief botanist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1903 convinced the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund the creation of a Desert Laboratory near the small mining and ranching town of Tucson. The goal was to study desert adaptations of plants in hopes of increasing agricultural output of the desert. Among the pioneering researchers, who helped to shape the then-developing field of ecology in the United States, were William Cannon, Volney M. Spaulding, Daniel T. MacDougal, Burton Livingston, Godfrey Sykes, and Forrest Shreve. This research continued until the 1940s, during which time the scientists there were instrumental in the development of the field of ecology in the United States. They began publishing a journal, Plant World, which later became the major journal Ecology.
Due to financial difficulties from the Great Depression, as well as a disconnect between the Carnegie Institute’s mission of making use of the desert and the researchers’ admiration of it, the Carnegie Institute turned the Desert Laboratory over to the Forest Service in 1940. They initially offered it to the University of Arizona for $1, but were turned down. Twenty years later, on July 20, 1960, after several easements and loss of research and records, the University purchased the reserve for considerably more.
Terah “Ted” Smiley, Paul Martin, and Ray Turner were some of the researchers through the 1960s, 1970’s and 1980’s who returned to the remaining plots which had been set up to monitor vegetation. Jay Quade, Bob Webb, Julio Betancourt, Jan Bowers, and Betsy Pierson have continued using Tumamoc Hill to study the vegetation and ecology of the Sonoran Desert. Today, Larry Venable directs research on Tumamoc Hill. Michael Rosenzweig is director of Tumamoc: People & Habitats program.
The long term observations and experiments on Tumamoc Hill’s vegetation have provided insights on saguaro boom and bust population dynamics, blue palo verde’s dependence on riparian areas, disease and other threats to desert tortoises, and the interactions of a community of small winter annuals and the insects and rodents that prey on their seeds