Sonoran Desert
|
Mountains in the Sonoran Desert |
The
Sonoran Desert (sometimes also called
Gila Desert after
Gila River) is a
North American
desert which straddles part of the
U.S.-Mexico border and covers large parts of the
U.S. states of
Arizona and
California and the
Mexican state of
Sonora. It is one of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, with an area of 120,000
square miles (311,000 km²). The desert contains a variety of unique plants and animals, such as the
saguaro cactus. On
January 17,
2001, 496,337
acres (2,008 km²) of the Sonoran Desert was set aside as the
Sonoran Desert National Monument for the purpose of enhancing resource protection.
The Sonoran Desert wraps around the northern end of the
Gulf of California, from northeastern
Baja California through southeastern
California and southwestern
Arizona to western
Sonora. It is bounded on the west by the
Peninsular Ranges, which separate it from the
California chaparral and woodlands and
Baja California desert ecoregions of the Pacific slope. To the north, the Sonoran Desert transitions to the cold-winter
Mojave,
Great Basin, and
Colorado Plateau deserts. To the east, the deserts transition to the
coniferous Arizona Mountains forests and
Sierra Madre Occidental forests at higher elevations. The
Sonoran-Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest marks the transition from the Sonoran Desert to the tropical dry forests of
Sinaloa.
The desert's subregions include the
Colorado Desert and
Yuma Desert. In the 1951 publication,
Vegetation of the Sonoran Desert, Forrest Shreve divided the Sonoran Desert into seven regions according to characteristic vegetation: Lower Colorado Valley, Arizona Upland, Plains of Sonora, Foothills of Sonora, Central Gulf Coast, Vizcaino Region, and Magdalena Region. (see
An Overview of the Sonoran Desert, external link below). Many ecologists now consider Shreve's Vizcaino and Magdalena regions, which lie on the western side of the Baja California Peninsula, to be a separate
ecoregion, the
Baja California desert.
*
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum*
Timeline of the Sonoran desert*
An Overview of the Sonoran Desert, by William G. McGinnies*
The Sonoran Desert Naturalist*
Very short overview of Sonoran Desert Geology*
Map of the Sonoran Desert*
Sonoran Desert images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu (
slow modem version)
Links to Parks and Recreational Areas within the Sonora Desert
*
Saguaro National Park Page*
Sonoran desert (World Wildlife Fund)*
South Mountain Park / Preserve
