earth notes

Magpies have earned a bad rap as the bully in the birdyard — some even call them the birds everyone loves to hate. But the often-misunderstood magpie may deserve a little more credit than they get.

The barrel cactus won’t slake your thirst on a hot desert day. It’s named for its stout shape, not its contents.

The Coconino National Forest established designated "Quiet Areas" — now known as "Seasonal Closures" — in the 1980s to provide recreational spaces free from motorized traffic at certain times of the year.

How will future inhabitants on Mars and the Moon get their veggies? Northern Arizona University doctoral candidate Laura Lee has been seeking the answer to that question.

A project below Glen Canyon Dam is targeting invasive smallmouth bass that threaten native fish in the Colorado River.

The Bradford pear was one of the most widely planted ornamental trees in North America. But it's now largely considered invasive and outlawed in several states.

High summer temperatures make Flagstaff’s thin air feel even thinner. Density altitude affects your body, turning a simple mountain hike into a tough physical workout.

The San Francisco Peaks volcanic system includes some tiny residents — small, rare plants that grow in difficult terrain. Citizen scientists are trying to document them.

Have you ever noticed a large, fuzzy, brightly-colored ant moving rapidly along the ground? Commonly called velvet ants, these aren’t ants at all. They’re actually wingless wasps.

Three decades ago, the use of cloud seeding to enhance precipitation over the region was tested as part of a large field experiment.