Phoenix - Part 2

Part 2 of Phoenix in Phebruary, my trip to AZ to visit my parents earlier this month. We made a trip to the Biosphere2 near Tucson.

In the early 1990s two groups of people were sealed into the Bioshpere to study survivability. There were five different biomes: rainforest, ocean with coral reef, wetland mangroves, savannah grassland, and fog desert. In addition there was an agricultural area for the researchers to grow their own food and a human habitat where they lived for 2 years completely sealed into the entire structure. Although the majority of the reports at the time were critical on the scientific importance of the experiment, overall there was a lot of information gathered on the human requirements for survivability and how the different ecologies adapted in a completely sealed off setting.

Currently the Biosphere2 is run by the University of Arizona and used for a variety of environmental and ecological research.

The outside of the biomes portion of the biosphere, the rainforest can be seen through the glass, the living area is the round building to the right

The Ocean Biome

It was a really cool place, if you are ever in the neighborhood I recommend taking the tour!

If you missed Part 1 - Montezumas Castle and Tuzigoot click the link. Part 3 - Superstition Mountains coming soon!