Author Description

What is a saga? 'A long story of heroic achievement.' Synonyms include: history, journal, heroic poem, legend, folk tale, historical.This is the saga, or story of the Saguaro Cactus, Carnegiea gigantea. It's only home is the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, Sonora Mexico, and a very small part of California. It is famous for its shape, usually with a tall slender trunk and many uplifted (or drooping) arms. While it is very slow growing, it may grow to forty-five or more feet tall and live 150 to 200 years.Follow this story from the volcanic and tectonic forces that shaped the Sonoran, to the relationship it has had with indigenous peoples. Listen to the experience of the Tohono O'odham people as told by Ma-liia, a young Tohono O'odham woman I have brought forward from six hundred years ago.