Madera Canyon
| Madera Canyon | |
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| White House Canyon | |
The canyon floor.
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 Madera Canyon
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| Location | Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona, US |
| Floor elevation | 3,562 feet (1,086 m) |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 31°43′33″N 110°52′49″W / 31.72583°N 110.88028°WCoordinates: 31°43′33″N 110°52′49″W / 31.72583°N 110.88028°W |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Hopkins, AZ |
| Watercourses | Madera Creek |
Madera Canyon (English: "Lumber Gorge") is a canyon in the northwestern face of the Santa Rita Mountains, twenty-five miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona. As part of the Coronado National Forest, Madera Canyon has campsites, picnic areas, and miles of hiking trails. The canyon is also used as a resting place for migrating birds, and it is thus known as a premier birdwatching area. Madera Canyon was originally named White House Canyon, after a prominent white adobe house was built there in the late 19th century. The canyon was renamed sometime in the early 1900s, although some locals still use the original name.
Madera Canyon is located in the Santa Rita Mountains, which is one of the largest of the Madrean Sky Islands. The canyon and its immediate surroundings are therefore home to wide variety of flora and fauna, ranging from cactus covered desert in the lower reaches of the canyon to aspen and pine forest on Mount Wrightson.
With fifteen species of hummingbirds, elegant trogon, sulphur-bellied flycatcher, black-capped gnatcatcher, flame-colored tanager, thirty-six species of wood warblers, and over 256 species of birds documented in total, Madera Canyon is rated the third best birding destination in the United States. Other animals that can be found in Madera Canyon include black bear, mountain lion, bobcats, white-tailed and mule deer, foxes, coatis, ring-tailed cats, raccoons, wild turkeys, squirrels, and rabbits. Sixteen species of bats have also been recorded in the canyon.
Madera Canyon is a bowl-shaped watershed. Side-canyons funnel water from springs and runoff in seasonal streams that feed Madera Creek. This stream system and the abundant plants along its banks form a riparian corridor. The corridor descends through all of the canyon's four life zones and creates excellent wildlife habitat.
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Wikipedia