Saguaro National Park will be expanding the Rincon Mountain District parking lot for safety reasons and a number of saguaros must be moved and re-planted.
Prior to moving them, last week we dug out and exposed some of their roots to show what the amazing root system of this plant looks like. The shallow "lateral" roots go out in all directions, where they are ready to absorb water during and immediately after a large rainstorm. Saguaros take up so much water - hundreds of gallons - after a rain that they visibly swell out. They store this water for use during dry periods. This saguaro is about 6 feet tall.
Thanks to our volunteer science advisors and citizen scientists for their hard work!