Arizona -- cool and wet

Arizona has three major climate zones that run roughly diagonally from Northwest to Southeast across the state. Almost synonymous with most outsiders view of Arizona is the low desert with its rocky landscapes of cactus and other low rainfall adapted plants. People also recognize the high plateau region of the state with its sandstone canyons and Monument Valley type views. Lesser known is the high mountain country, especially the White Mountains of Eastern Arizona and the sky-islands throughout the state.

The above picture was taken on Highway 260 on the road from Springerville to McNary at around 8000 feet up in the White Mountains. The trees are predominantly Ponderosa pines. Arizona is the home to the largest Ponderosa pine forest in the U.S. The temperature at the time the photo was taken was just above freezing. McNary, a former sawmill location on the huge White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation, gets 26 inches of rainfall on the average each year. In the Winter, the temperature can drop to well below zero. The lowest temperature recorded in Arizona was 40 degrees below zero at Hawley Lake, just a stone's throw from McNary.

The temperature varies greatly with the altitude (everywhere in world) but it is pretty dramatic to drive from Mesa, Arizona in the low desert where the temperature can be in the 70s and in a couple of hours be standing in a snow storm with temperatures well below freezing.