NeilyWorld      Birding Southern Arizona

         NeilyWorld's Pinal County - Birding Site Guide is designed to be a useful aid for birders living in or visiting this south-central Arizona county. Pinal County lies roughly between Phoenix and Tucson. A surprising variety of birding opportunites exists in this area. The county's area is more than 5,000 square miles, including 4.5 sq. mi. of water. In both economy and geography, Pinal County has two distinct regions. The eastern portion is characterized by mountains with elevations to 6,000 feet, with copper mining as the principal industry. The western area is primarily low desert valleys with irrigated agriculture. Florence, established in 1866, is the county seat. The communities of Mammoth, Oracle, San Manuel, and Kearny have traditionally been active in copper mining, smelting, milling and refining. Arizona City, Eloy, Maricopa, Picacho, Red Rock and Stanfield have agriculture based-economies. Apache Junction, Arizona City, Coolidge, Eloy, and particularly Casa Grande have diversified their economic base to include manufacturing, trade and services. This expansion and diversification has been facilitated by their location in the major growth corridor between Phoenix and Tucson near the junction of I-10 and I-8. The county has many interesting attractions, including the Old West Highway 60, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Picacho Peak State Park, Picacho Reservoir, Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum, Oracle State Park and Columbia University’s Biosphere II, McFarland State Park, Lost Dutchman State Park, Skydive Arizona - the world’s largest skydiving drop-zone, and the Florence Historical District, with 120 buildings on the National Register. The state of Arizona is the county’s largest landholder with 35 percent, followed by Indian reservations, 23 percent; individuals and corporations, 22 percent; the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, 14 percent, and the remaining 6 percent which is other public land. Much of the above is from the Arizona Association of Counties County Profiles. I sincerely hope that folks will find this site useful and that it will stimulate an interest in our local natural areas. If you find errors or omissions in this website, please let me know at larry.neily@hotmail.com, so that together we can provide the best information.