El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, Sonora

Environmental awareness

From 2009 to date

Due to its extension and biodiversity, the Sonoran Desert is one of the four most important deserts in North America. It has the largest number of Natural Protected Areas in the world, including the El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, declared a World Natural Heritage Site in 2014.

In order to disseminate the environmental and cultural values of this important reserve, in 2009 the Schuk Toak (sacred mountain) Museum and Cultural Center for Nature Conservation was built, named after the O’odham indigenous language.

Since its opening, the Schuk Toak Museum has been operated by ENDESU. Through this space we seek to promote and strengthen the culture of conservation among the population and visitors of the Sonoran Desert, through a constantly updated environmental education program, a strategic plan of dissemination and fundraising. Schuk Toak receives approximately eight thousand visitors annually