The Pinacate

The Pinacate is a biosphere reserve (the full title is Reserva de la Biosfera el Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar) managed by the Mexican Federal Government (SEMARNAT, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources) in collaboration with the government of the State of Sonora (IMADES). It is located in the Sonoran Desert of Mexico, on the eastern edge of the Gran Desierto de Altar, right below the border of Arizona in the United States, and north of the town of Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. It is one of the most strikingly visible landforms in North America when viewed from space. A volcano system of the cinder cone family, known as the Santa Clara forms much of the landscape, including three peaks: the Pinacate, Carnegie, and Medio.