Tree of Life, Arizona

The Tree of Life is a reclamation land art piece, made by Judy Pinto, with landscape architect Steve Martino. It is made of stone walls, arranged in the shape of a tree, lying flat on the ground, and is designed to capture water with its branches and trunk, to foster plant life. It is located at the northeast corner of Papago Park, in Phoenix, at the intersection of Galvin Parkway and McDowell Road. Papago Park has several other interesting things in it as well, such as the historic Hole in the Rock, Hunt’s Tomb, the Phoenix Zoo, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Hall of Flame Firefighting Museum, a golf course, and a fairly sizable National Guard base complete with helicopters. The park used to be called the Papago Saguaro National Monument, but the name was changed when the Saguaro cactuses disappeared, due mostly to imbalances in the ecology of the site (many of them were eaten by rabbits, apparently).