For your health and safety:
- Avoid contact with the river water.
- Do not drink or wash with the water.
- If you come into contact with river water, wash the affected area as soon as possible.
TUMACÁCORI NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK OFFICIAL GEOCACHE: WELCOME!
Tumacácori has the honor of protecting one mile of the Santa Cruz River along with its rare southwest cottonwood-riparian environment, which is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States. A “riparian” area is the lush corridor of water-loving plants growing along the banks of a river. These ecosystems are essential habitat for numerous plants, birds, and other animals which would otherwise have trouble surviving in the surrounding desert and scrub environment. The Santa Cruz River is naturally intermittent stream with water flowing only flowing beneath the sandy surface in places during parts of the year. Mission communities used the river for hundreds of years at locations where the river water was forced to the surface by high bedrock, making the source of water more reliable. The Santa Cruz River is the only river that originates in the United States, flows into Mexico, and makes a U-turn which diverts back into the United States. This river has been beneficial for thousands of years and continues to be so today.