Chalmette Battlefield

Chalmette Battlefield and Chalmette National Cemetery (N29⁰56.5’ W89⁰59.5’) are operated by the National Park Service as part of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. Both are on St. Bernard Highway (Route 46) east of New Orleans and fronting the Mississippi River.

Chalmette Battlefield (approximately 140 acres) was the site of a two-hour engagement with British troops in 1815, which was the final battle of the War of 1812, resulting in a loss for the British. From an American perspective, the war was fought to secure maritime rights, reduce British influence over American Indians, and allow the U.S. to annex Canada. Two of the three of these objectives were met. The British made three major advances in the war. The British were stopped in an advance from Canada at the Battle of Lake Champlain. A second advance on Washington DC ended at Baltimore when Fort McHenry held off British ships. A third advance on New Orleans ended with this battle. In preparing for the battle, the Americans built a shoulder-high rampart to hold off cannon fire. The British attacked and suffered heavy casualties, including the death of three of their high-ranking officers. The battle made Andrew Jackson a national hero and eventually led to his election as President.

After the battle, a Greek revival house, the Malus-Beauregard House, was constructed on the battlefield. A freedman’s cemetery was established on part of the battlefield following the Civil War, and ex-slaves were buried on 4 acres. All traces of the cemetery are gone. An African-American settlement known as Fazendeville eventually was established. This community was relocated in 1966 to establish the battlefield park.

Chalmette National Cemetery is 17.5 acres and was established in 1864 as a burial site for Union soldiers who died in the Civil War in the Gulf of Mexico area. In 1875, a brick wall was constructed around it, which still stands. It was closed to new burials in 1945, then briefly re-opened for Vietnam-era casualties. There are 15,000 graves.

Long Vue Gardens National Historic Landmark

Long Vue House and Gardens National Historic Landmark (N29⁰58’38” W90⁰7’27”) is operated by a foundation on Bamboo Lane south of Metairie Road on the western edge of New Orleans. The 1939 eclectic 22,000-square-foot three story house with basement has circular themes such as rounded doors. The house was built by the Sterns, who acquired the Sears Roebuck and Company fortune. Mystery house features include a door into a wall, scales on floors, and a reading light in a fake book. One room is now used as a modern art gallery and another has traveling exhibits. The carriage house displays unusual wildflower sculptures. The gardens and grounds include a live oak allee (live oaks with resurrection ferns lining the entrance road), an azalea walk, the Pan Garden with Japanese magnolias, the Portico Terrace, Yellow Garden with angel’s trumpet, Spanish court with fountains, goldfish pond, walled garden with limes and oranges, okra, and beautyberry, and a wild garden with a camellia walk and Louisiana swamp iris walk.

Ecoregions: 73k (Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Southern Holocene Meander Belts); NA409 (Mississippi Lowland forests)

Agua Fria National Monument

Agua Fria National Monument, Arizona, is 70,900 acres of high desert grassland bordered by I-17 on the west, the Tonto National Forest on the east, and the Prescott National Forest on the north. The northernmost point is on Dry Creek east of Cordes Junction at the Prescott National Forest boundary (N34ᵒ22’ W112ᵒ4’) and the southernmost point is on the Agua Fria River at Black Canyon City (N34ᵒ5’ W112ᵒ7’). The major topographic features are three high mesas (Black Mesa, Perry Mesa, and Sycamore Mesa). The mesas are split by deep canyons of the Agua Fria (Cold Water) River and its tributary. From Perry Mesa a 4,000-foot-high dormant shield volcano, Joe’s Hill (N34ᵒ11’ W112ᵒ5’), rises above the surrounding terrain. The riparian areas along the Agua Fria River and its tributaries are an Important Bird Area for species such as the yellow-billed cuckoo, Lucy’s warbler, and Bell’s vireo.

The monument was established to protect more than 450 archaeological and historic sites—stone masonry pueblos, cliffs with rock art, and agricultural terraces used as ancient farms. Major visitor areas are at Badger Springs (exit 256 on I-17) and Bloody Basin Road (exit 259 on I-17). At Badger Springs (N34ᵒ14’ W112ᵒ6’), a one-mile trail follows Badger Springs Wash to the Agua Fria River, where riparian vegetation and rock art can be viewed. The Bloody Basin Road (Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Road 9269) descends from I-17 down into the Agua Fria River canyon and ascends the eastern canyon wall as a high clearance route to Perry Mesa and the Tonto National Forest.

At the Agua Fria River crossing on Bloody Basin Road is the 200-acre Horseshoe Ranch (N34ᵒ16’ W112ᵒ3’), owned by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and used for education and research on climate change in riparian ecosystems.

East on Bloody Basin Road on Perry Mesa, two-track BLM Road 9023 leads to Pueblo La Plata (N34ᵒ15’ W112ᵒ2’), the largest stone masonry pueblo in the monument with evidence of 80 to 100 rooms. The site overlooks Silver Creek canyon and can be reached by a one-half mile interpretive trail from the end of the road.

From Cordes Lakes, two historic sites can be accessed.  On the Agua Fria River is an 1891 schoolhouse, and on Big Bug Creek is the Teskey Home Site (both N34ᵒ19’ W112ᵒ4’).

The Agua Fria River within the monument is eligible for the national wild and scenic river system. Supporting the monument are numerous partners including a friends group and the Black Canyon Heritage Park (N34ᵒ4’ W112ᵒ9’), located on Old Black Canyon Highway at the Agua Fria River crossing, which interprets desert riparian ecosystems.

Ecoregions: NA503, Arizona Mountains forests (World Wildlife Fund); 23h: Arizona-New Mexico Mountains, Lower Mogollon Transition (above 3,000 feet); 81k: Sonoran Basin and Range, Arizona Upland/East Sonoran Basins (1,500 to 3,000 feet) (Environmental Protection Agency)

Management: part of National Landscape Conservation System (Bureau of Land Management); Arizona Game and Fish Department (Horseshoe Ranch)

Websites: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/natmon/afria.html; http://www.azgfd.gov/outdoor_recreation/watchableWildlife/horseshoeRanch.shtml; http://blackcanyonheritagepark.org/; http://aguafriafriends.org/; http://aziba.org/?page_id=727.

Visited January 2016

 

 

 

Roosevelt Reservoir on Salt River

Theodore Roosevelt Dam

was constructed in 1911 as the world’s largest cyclopean-masonry dam, built of huge, irregular blocks. These were covered by concrete in a 1996 renovation which also raised the dam by 77 feet. The dam may be viewed from two sites on State Route 88, the Apache Trail. Inspiration Point is upstream of the dam and the Theodore Roosevelt Dam overlook provides a look up the canyon at downstream side of the dam. Roosevelt Reservoir is 21,493 acres at full pool. The reservoir has two arms, one on Tonto Creek and the other along the Salt River. Recreation areas are managed by the Tonto National Forest, which has a visitor center overlooking the lake. The lake is spanned upstream of the dam by the Roosevelt Lake bridge on State Route 188 the longest single-span steel arch bridge in North America. The distinctive arch bridge is 1,080 feet long and 300 feet above the water. When viewed from the side, the bridge deck is slightly arched so drivers would not have the perception that the bridge is sagging. Salt River Project is the operating entity for the dam and reservoir. At the upper end of the reservoir, the Roosevelt Diversion Dam (N33ᵒ38’ W110ᵒ56’) was constructed in 1906 to send water to the Power Canal. The Power Canal extended 20 miles to Theodore Roosevelt Dam, and provided water for hydroelectric generation to power the equipment used to build the dam. The Arizona National Scenic Trail crosses the reservoir on the State Route 188 Roosevelt Lake bridge.

Coordinates: N33ᵒ40’ W111ᵒ10’ (dam)

Ecoregion: Arizona Mountain Forests (World Wildlife Fund); Upland/Eastern Sonoran Mountains (EPA).

Owner: US Bureau of Reclamation, operated by Salt River Project

Pueblo Grande National Historic Landmark

Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park

is on Washington Street between 44^th and 48^th Streets near the Sky Harbor International Airport. The site contains a platform mound that was originally three stories tall and at the center of the largest irrigation system in the New World between 600 and 1450 CE. Pueblo Grande was the starting point for ten major canals which extended from the Salt River throughout the present-day Phoenix metropolitan area. Additional platform mounds were located at three-mile intervals along other canals. The site of Pueblo Grande itself extended for one mile north of the Grand Canal. The first canals were built between 450 and 750 CE. As the civilization grew, canals were expanded and ballcourts were introduced between 750 and 900 CE. A small circular mound was built between 900 and 150 CE, followed by the larger platform mound and astronomical observatories between 1150 and 1450 CE. Estimated population of the prehistoric civilization at the site of present-day Phoenix was 25,000 to 50,000.

Ecoregion: Sonoran Desert (World Wildlife Fund); Middle Gila/Salt River Floodplains of Sonoran Basin and Range (EPA)

Location: City of Phoenix, Arizona N33ᵒ27’ W111ᵒ59’