David Whitmer's Avra Valley Saguaro Project

Map showing coordinates of project Anchored to the Northeast by Shiva

Winter of 2021 and 2022

I first met David Whitmer on January 19th of 2025 while on a car tour of the Avra Valley to see, discuss, and think about the saguaros growing there as well as the impact non-indigenous peoples have had in the area for over 200 years.
John Scheuring of the Arizona Native Plant Society took the lead on this tour. David was there to discuss his photo project "Anchored to the Northeast by Shiva."

After hearing David talk about his project, I thought, "This would be a good candidate for Webulizing and making a map to go along with it."

I mentioned this to David during the tour and gave him my calling card. I asked him to get in touch so we could discuss the project, and to my delight, he did. After a number of emails, phone calls, and many hours on the laptop, a child was born: the web version and map of "Anchored to the Northeast by Shiva." I hope you find it interesting and enjoyable.

Mike Breiding; Webulizer-in-Chief, EpicRoadTrips.us

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Introduction
by David Whitmer

Anchored to the Northeast by Shiva is a collection of 259 images depicting every saguaro cactus I found within a square quarter-mile of Ironwood Forest National Monument ... 129,000 acres of BLM-managed Sonoran Desert located northwest of Tucson. The images were taken in the winter of 2021-2022.

The title of the project refers to a large, charismatic saguaro cactus which sits at northeast corner of the square. Shiva - also known as the “Eighty-Arm Cactus” - has been so named because of the abundance of arms it possesses (many more than 80, I would add). While the cactus is easily accessible for anyone to see, I would advise the curious to park their vehicle on the shoulder of the paved road when coming to visit, as people driving too near to Shiva on the dirt roads is threatening the cactus with root compaction.

Each of the 259 images is named by the GPS coordinates of the saguaro depicted. This enables the project to serve as a tool for environmental stewardship; that is, two, ten or a hundred years from now someone may travel to the given coordinates and see how the saguaro and the land around it has fared (the ultimate goal of the project is to be published book form). As one may notice if examining images of cactus along the northern border, some of the cactus have already not done well. Between the day I plotted the square quarter mile and the day I began photographing, a road had been graded along the northern edge to bury a waterline for a nearby mine. Numerous cactus were destroyed in the process, and at that point I realized the urgency of the project.

Click or tap on the image below to view the interactive map of "Anchored to the Northeast by Shiva."

This map shows the Saguaro project area for "Anchored to the Northeast by Shiva."

Detail map of Saguaro project area showing the location of all 259 Saguaros s and project boundary.

Detail map of saguaro project area showing the location of all 259 saguaros and the project boundary.

To use the interactive map, click on a blue dot within the map and in the panel to the left the coordinates will appear; click on the description link and an image of the cactus at that location will appear.
NOTE: The map is best viewed using a tablet sized display or larger.

When you click/tap on a selection the map legend or click/tap on a blue dot, you will see a pop-up box with a link in it. Click on the link and it will load the chosen saguaro photo.

Maps by Mike Breiding; Webulizer-in-Chief, EpicRoadTrips.us