Оракл, Аризона: История, природа и современность

CDP in Pinal County, Arizona

Oracle is a census designated place (CDP) in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. The population was 3,686 at the 2010 Census, falling to 3,051 at the 2020 Census. Oracle State Park is adjacent. The Arizona Trail passes through the Park and community. Oracle is the gateway to the road up the north face of Mount Lemmon, which starts off of American Avenue and currently offers a secondary route to the top. Prior to the construction of the Catalina Highway on the opposite side of the Santa Catalina range, the Oracle Control Road was the only road access to the mountain community of Summerhaven. The term "control road" derives from the fact that the direction of traffic was restricted to one way only, either up or down at alternate times of day, to prevent motorists from having to pass one another on the narrow, steep road. This route is now popular mainly with off road 4x4 drivers and with off road or dual purpose motorcyclists, and should not be attempted by regular passenger cars or street motorcycles. This road ends at the Catalina Highway near Loma Linda. The community is the location of the Biosphere 2 experiment. Oracle was also the postal address for environmentalist author Edward Abbey, who never lived in the town but visited often. Buffalo Bill Cody owned the High Jinks Gold Mine in Oracle briefly and, in 1911, appeared as "Santa" for a group of local children. Oracle is becoming a bedroom community for Tucson, Arizona, but large scale development is opposed by many residents.

Oracle has a cold semi arid climate at an altitude of 4500 feet (1372 m).

Flora includes emory oak, point leaf manzanita, holly leaf buckthorn, alligator juniper, velvet mesquite, netleaf hackberry, lemonade berry, oreganillo, Thurber’s desert honeysuckle, ocotillo, turpentine bush, yellow bells, golden flowered agave, mescal agave, sotol, soaptree yucca, beargrass, Engelman’s prickly pear, fishhook barrel cactus, cane cholla, firecracker penstemon, showy four o’clock, sacred datura, Goodding verbena, fairy duster, tufted evening primrose, Arizona mariposa lily, deer grass, and Parry’s grama. Fauna includes greater roadrunner, common raven, acorn woodpecker, great horned owl, zone tailed hawk, Cooper’s hawk, wild turkey, Gambel’s quail, cactus wren, curve billed thrasher, hooded oriole, northern cardinal, Lucy’s warbler, vermilion flycatcher, broad billed hummingbird, Gila monster, Clark’s spiny lizard, Madrean alligator lizard, coachwhip, gopher snake, red spotted toad, canyon tree frog, black swalllowtail, white lined sphinx, Arizona sister, Sonoran bumblebee, tarantula hawk, western short horn walkingstick, western rhinoceros beetle, darkling beetles, rainbow grasshopper, flame skimmer, Arizona mantis, green lynx spider, desert blonde tarantula, Arizona bark scorpion, mule deer, cougar, bobcat, gray fox, coyote, striped skunk, javelina, white nosed coati, rock squirrel, desert cottontail, and big brown bat. The Oracle region once sustained more extensive and biodiverse grassland ecosystems, but widespread and poorly regulated cattle ranching has largely depleted them. An ongoing transition to a mesquite/opuntia/invasive grass dominated landscape is occurring.

Oracle and the surrounding area sit largely on a slab of granite called "Oracle granite" that is visible as red or grey and white speckled "boulders" rising over the scrub and grass. It is mostly porphyritic biotite Precambrian granite with large microcline phenocrysts, and has occasional inclusions of white and milky quartz and pegmatite. The granite rarely contains ore and veins of gold or silver, and sometimes copper.

Oracle is located at (32.616030, 110.781854). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 16.4 square miles (42 km2), all land.

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,563 people, 1,384 households, and 1,004 families residing in the CDP. The population density was There were 1,534 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.0% White or European American, 0.1% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 17.3% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. 38.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 1,384 households, out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 27.4% were non families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.6 and the average family size was 3.0. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $38,267, and the median income for a family was $46,026. Males had a median income of $37,667 versus $30,667 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $19,459. About 8.0% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.