Coronado National Forest in Arizona was officially established in 1902 by President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. He felt that protecting the natural beauty of the West was critical and successfully lobbied for several regions to become national forests and national parks. Coronado National Forest is a unique park in that it consists of a handful of “sky islands,” which are mountainous regions that rise abruptly from a flat desert or plain terrain. Though Coronado National Forest is mostly in Arizona, a small portion sprawls across the Arizona-New Mexico border. Coronado National Forest is a classic example of southwestern landscape with rugged buttes rising from the desert, red desert sprawling for miles around, and cacti aplenty.