The Marcus Landslide Trail leads to one of the largest landslides in the history of Arizona. An estimated 194 million cubic feet (25.8 billion pounds) of rock and debris slid off the side of East End Peak before settling about a mile from the initiation zone. Energy released by the slide is thought comparable to an atomic bomb in an event that may have only lasted a few minutes.

Teddy Bear Cholla are also known as Jumping Cholla for their easily detached limbs that seem to 'jump' and cling to passerbys

Mature saguaro cacti, well over a hundred years old, flank large basalt outcrops

Fine examples of weathered mushroom-formations are found on the Marcus Landslide Trail

Open space in the lower bajada is filled with comb bur, an ephemeral spring annual

Large Palo Verde Trees provide shade for jackrabbit, coyote and gray fox - Palo Verde means 'green branch'

Mushrooms begin their lives underground, exposed as water and wind erode surrounding rock

Climbers have easy access to areas such as Rosetta Stone and Granite Ballroom

The Marcus Landslide - named for Dr. Melvin G. Marcus, admired professor of Geography at Arizona State University

Cholla species hybridize easily and can be difficult to tell apart

Lichen (yellow and orange) thrive on granite boulders and can slowly decompose its host rock through chemical and physical breakdown

The Sonoran Desert supports approximately 2000 different plant species, many of which can be found right along the trail

Some boulders along the Marcus Landslide Trail weigh over 10 tons

This mushroom formation will eventually collapse due to visible cracks in its base (see next photo)

A small crack in the base of a large mushroom formation will be its downfall

Scientists estimate the force of the Marcus Landslide equivalent to an atomic bomb

Views north through a hole provided by a collapsed mushroom rock formation

The Marcus Landslide released 7 million cubic yards of granite from under East End Mountain