Access to this video is a benefit for members through PBS Passport.
Up Next
Back to Show
The Desert Speaks
Cactus Capital of the World
Season 13
Episode 6
Villages in the Valle de Tehuacán and nearby Oaxaca have endured for centuries in a desert environment. One of the staples of this environment was and still is the cactus, which formed the basis for their material culture. Today eighteen species of columnar cacti grow in the valley (as opposed to three in Arizona, eight in Sonora), all of them used one way or another by native peoples.
Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By
27:35
Scientists come from all over the world to study at the Southwestern Research Station.
27:50
How many mysteries are being solved and many benefits realized by the study of the desert.
27:21
Explore some real desert islands where birds, plants and animals struggle to survive.
27:30
Take a closer look a the animals and plants in and along the Sea of Cortez.
27:51
Explore riparian areas surrounding the Colorado River.
27:42
Take a look at some fascinating ways people can learn about the desert.
27:41
Spring in the Sonoran Desert is a time of beauty and abundant life.
27:45
Some amazing research projects which help the wild inhabitants of the desert.
27:41
Explore the hottest and driest region of North America, just south of the border.
27:25
The arduous journey of water through the Sonoran Desert Valley.
27:44
Over millions of years, geological formations have produced the Sonoran Desert.
27:42
What makes a desert, a desert?