I haven't travelled to Tuscon yet so I don't know, though I know there are some large preserves outside of Tuscon. I'm not sure what you mean by the waterless

I haven't travelled to Tuscon yet so I don't know, though I know there are some large preserves outside of Tuscon. I'm not sure what you mean by the waterless Agua Fria plateau. I make a lot trips between Phoenix and northern cities like Prescott, Sedona, and Flagstaff. At no point among them do I see areas that are truly waterless. A lava field would be a sight to behold, but I don't recall any such thing along I-17 north. During the years with there are more winter rains, the plateau one reaches right around Sunset Point makes for an amazing grassland. That's even knowing that, with as green and lush as it is that season, it will mean fire and devastation later in the drier parts of the year. During the monsoon rains, those high grassland turn into magnificent landscape with ponding, reflecting the stormy clouds in the sky, across a wide horizon.