Description:
Increasing destruction of natural habitat in the United States due to growing
population has resulted in a series of laws, policies, and guidelines designed to protect
and better manage natural resources. Garden Canyon, located in the pine and oak-covered
Huachuca Mountains in the southern part of the Fort Huachuca Military
Reservation (Figure 1), contains many plant and animal species that are federally listed
or are candidates for listing as threatened or endangered.
The geomorphology and surficial geology of Garden Canyon were assessed
through interpretation of aerial photographs and soil maps and extensive fieldwork.
Color aerial photography (1:23,000 scale) and Soil Conservation Service soil maps
were used to distinguish geologic surfaces. Geomorphic surfaces of different ages and
landform type were distinguished and mapped using criteria such as topographic
position, degree of stream dissection, degree of surface clast weathering, and soil
development (see Bull, 1991). Map unit boundaries and surface correlations were then
field checked. Age estimates for the different surfaces are based on correlations to
surfaces with similar weathering and soil characteristics that have radiometric age
control and are located in the lower Colorado River Valley (Bull, 1991) and middle Rio
Grande Valley (Gile et al., 1983).