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Tonto national Forest has almost 3,000,000 acres and is the largest of the six national Forests in arizona. Landscapes range from Saguaro cactus deserts to lakes and pine-forested mountains. Elevations range from 1,400 feet in the Sonoran Desert to 7,400 feet in the Mogollon Rim. Much of the area is covered by cacti (primarily giant Saguaro). The cactus colonies merge with bushes, chaparral and grasslands above 4,000 feet, while the higher hills to the north support varied woodland habitats including juniper, mixed fir and ponderosa pine.

Besides desert and mountains, Tonto national Forest contains lakes/reservoirs, river valleys, canyons and flat plains. It also contains eight separate national wilderness areas with limited access. The land in these wilderness areas is generally steep and rough, without many trails, and has harsh weather for most of the year.

To the southwest, Tonto national Forest is bordered by the edge of the Superstition Wilderness and New River Mountains. To the north, it's bordered by three other national Forests - Prescott, Coconino and Apache national Forests. And to the east, it's bordered by the fort Apache and san Carlos Indian Reservations. The northern boundary is defined by the Mogollon Rim, ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 feet, that forms the southern edge of the great Colorado Plateau, which stretches for over 100 miles across central arizona.

Two campgrounds that have beautiful views of just a few of the diverse landscapes of Tonto national Forest are Tortilla and Cholla campgrounds. While both of these campgrounds are located in beautiful desert areas, Tortilla campground has beautiful views of the bluffs and mountains of the Superstition Wilderness and Cholla campground overlooks Theodore Roosevelt lake.

Tortilla campground is on a ridge along Tortilla Creek next to Apache Trail Scenic Byway. With 77 RV and tent camp sites in the middle of a beautiful desert landscape, you would think that this campground, like so many national Forest campgrounds, would not provide any sort of RV hook up. Well, surprisingly, all sites have water and sewer hook up - a much appreciated desert campground amenity!

In addition to the beautiful views of the native desert vegetation, at an elevation of 1,870 feet, the campground has excellent views of the rugged bluffs in the Superstition Wilderness from most camp sites. Getting to Tortilla campground via The Apache Trail, or AZ 88 as it is officially known, also provides magnificent views of the Superstition Mountains and Wilderness. Desert vegetation provides good separation between camp sites at Tortilla.

Cholla campground, like Tortilla, is surrounded by desert vegetation. It overlooks Roosevelt lake, with many sites having direct but distant views of the lake. Beware that because the campground is a distance away from the lake, if the water is low, you may not be able to see it. Water levels are dependent on the weather and the need for water in phoenix.

This campground is at an elevation of 2,200 feet and is much larger than Tortilla with 206 RV and tent camp sites. No hook ups are available at this campground. Roosevelt lake is the one of the largest in the state and like other lakes in this area, summer water temperatures can exceed 90 degrees F. The last few years has seen a dramatic reduction in the water level, largely due to the need to maintain supply to the other lakes on the Salt River downstream. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of boating and swimming opportunities for much of the year.

Tortilla and Cholla campgrounds are like two oases in the desert for campers looking for campgrounds with beautiful views of a few of the varied natural landscapes of Tonto national Forest. Camping with beautiful views of desert landscapes, a lake and rugged mountainous terrain of the Superstitious Wilderness area is just a small part of what Arizona's largest national forest has to offer.

Carl Zimmerman is dedicated to finding campgrounds with beautiful views. For more information, visit http://www.campingwithaview.com/NF/AZ/TontoNF.htm for Tonto national Forest and visit http://www.campingwithaview.com/NF/NF.htm for all national Forests campgrounds with beautiful views.

There are several reasons to have the best home water purifier. Having a filter for your drinking water or showers is a good first step toward ensuring proper health. However, there are many other benefits to be had from filtering all of the water that you use in your house.

One of the benefits that you get from using the best whole house water treatment system is relative to budget. When you use a filtration system for your entire home you will discover that clothes last longer. You will also find that you require less of your household cleaners, shampoos, soaps, and laundry detergents to be effective in your cleaning.

Another benefit that you get from using the best home water purifier is relative to your health, and the health of your family. Using bottled or filtered water is an important step in contributing to the water health of your household. However, your family could still be absorbing harmful organic compounds and synthetic chemicals by washing their hands, bathing, and through steam of cooking and showering.

The best whole house water treatment system will eliminate these health concerns. The chlorine that causes chloroform gases to be released into the home will be eliminated from every faucet in your home. This puts you and your family at lower risk for various types of lung cancer and asthma.

Unfortunately, not all companies that claim to have the best filters are telling the truth. All home water filtration systems are not created equally. Those using reverse osmosis or distillation methods will eliminate healthful minerals from your water, while failing to eliminate some of the more harmful synthetic chemicals.

The best whole house water treatment system will use a carbon based filter. This type of filter has been found to be the most effective in eliminating chlorine, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and triahalomethanes (THMs). This type of filter is the only one recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in residential homes.

The best home water purifier will also use a multi-stage filtration process. It only makes sense that the more times your water is filtered, the cleaner and healthful it will be. It also makes sense that some types of filters will be more likely to clean water of certain contaminants than others.

For this reason, the best whole house water treatment system will use a combination of carbon based filters that will process the water in multiple stages. There are typically at least two, if not three stages to the best water filtration systems. These systems will provide the best performance.

When in doubt of the quality of system that is claiming to be the best home water purifier, ask the manufacturer for performance testing data sheets. This information will allow you to compare water filtration systems for your home. It will provide you with information about water usage and cost per gallon.

The performance testing data sheet will also provide statistics regarding the amount of VOCs and THMs that are removed from the water. It should also provide you with percentages of chlorine and minerals left in the water that has been filtered. Additionally, the data sheet should tell you the PH level of the water, and explain whether or not the finished product is PH balanced for optimum health.

Martin Spencer is a health researcher who has been studying water filtration for over 25 years. He is a regular contributor to Water Filtration Guide, a site dedicated to various methods of treating and purifying water. Learn about best whole house water treatment system and other filtration methods on our site.