Of all the states in the country, Arizona is probably the one that most frequently comes to mind when dry weather, scorching heat, and desert landscapes are the topics of conversations. The southwestern part of Arizona, it must be admitted, is desert of the truest sort, with Yuma in the far corner receiving as little as two inches of rain, on average, in a given year. In fact, some of the stretches of land to the east of Yuma and the Colorado River are among the driest in all of the United States, often going years without a single drop of precipitation.
Despite having the appearance of what many would consider desert, much of the southern part of the state even further east, though, is quite a bit less dry. By the time a traveler gets to Tucson, annual rainfall averages on the desert floor range up to twelve inches or more, with much higher totals in the many distinct mountain ranges that dot the region. With the relatively low-lying desert receiving quite a bit of direct, natural irrigation and the mountains providing much more in the form of runoff, in fact, this part of the state can be relatively lush in certain spots.
In addition to contributing to the formation of some spectacular riparian landscapes, this also makes the central part of southern Arizona an appropriate place for growing certain crops, as those who Click here will see. A number of resourceful nut-growing operations, for example, take advantage of the conditions along the banks of some of the most prominent rivers in the area, benefiting both from the melting snow that runs down from the high mountains and the relatively regular rainfall that happens during each year’s monsoon season.
Some common Thank you gifts in Tucson, then, will include pecans and other nuts grown right there in southern Arizona. Even with some of the harshest desert in the country only fifty or so miles to the west, such Thank you gifts in Tucson are a good representation of what the area is actually like. At stores like the Green Valley Pecan Company Store, those looking for a taste of a unique part of the country can easily arrange for one.
