 Map of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.
 Mountains in the Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert (sometimes called the Gila Desert after the Gila River or the Low Desert in opposition to the higher Mojave Desert) is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
A mountain range in the Sonoran desert. ...
A mountain range in the Sonoran desert. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (908x805, 250 KB) Summary Image from U.S. Goverment Agency Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (908x805, 250 KB) Summary Image from U.S. Goverment Agency Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Stereo image anaglyphed for red (left eye) and cyan (right eye) filters. ...
Stereo card image modified for crossed eye viewing. ...
The Gila River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the United States The Gila River (Oodham [Pima]: Hila Akimel) is a tributary of the Colorado River, 630 mile (1,014 km) long, in the southwestern United States. ...
For the indigenous American tribe, see Mohave. ...
World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...
This article is about arid terrain. ...
The international border between Mexico and the United States runs a total of 3,141 km (1,951 miles) from San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east. ...
Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties/Parishes/Boroughs, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of...
Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area Ranked 6th - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²) - Width 310 miles (500 km) - Length 400 miles (645 km) - % water 0. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ...
The United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico) comprises 31 states (estados) and one federal district (Distrito Federal), which contains the capital, Mexico City. ...
Sonora is a state in northwestern Mexico, bordering the states of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south, and Baja California to the northwest. ...
A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ...
Synonyms Binomial name Carnegiea gigantea Britton & Rose The saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) is a large, tree-sized cactus species that is native to the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. ...
January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
An acre is the name of a unit of area in a number of different systems, including Imperial units and United States customary units. ...
Sonoran Desert National Monument is located in the U.S. state of Arizona. ...
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 Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez or Sea of Cortés; locally known in the Spanish language as Mar de Cortés or, much less frequently, Golfo de California) is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. ...
Baja California (literally lower California in Spanish) is the northernmost state of Mexico. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area Ranked 6th - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²) - Width 310 miles (500 km) - Length 400 miles (645 km) - % water 0. ...
Sonora is a state in northwestern Mexico, bordering the states of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south, and Baja California to the northwest. ...
The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges which stretch 900 miles from southern California to the southern tip of Baja California, part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico. ...
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of central and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. ...
The Baja California desert is a Desert ecoregion of Mexicos Baja California Peninsula. ...
For the indigenous American tribe, see Mohave. ...
Drainage map showing the Great Basin in orange Various Definitions of the Great Basin (NPS) The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. ...
The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateaus Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. ...
Pine forests are an example of a temperate coniferous forests Temperate coniferous forests are a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest. ...
This is a list of mountain ranges organized alphabetically by continent. ...
The Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests are a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Sierra Madre Occidental range of Mexico and the southwestern United States. ...
Sinaloa is a state in northwestern Mexico. ...
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. The Colorado Desert (yellow) showing Joshua Tree National Park The Colorado Desert is a large arid depression in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of California and the northeastern portion of the Mexican state of Baja California. ...
The Yuma Desert is a lower-elevation section of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and the northwest of Mexico. ...
An ecoregion, sometimes called a bioregion, is a relatively large area of land or water that contains a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities. ...
The Baja California desert is a Desert ecoregion of Mexicos Baja California Peninsula. ...
Ecology of the Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert includes 60 mammal species, 350 bird species, 20 amphibian species, 100+ reptile species, 30 native fish species, and more than 2000 native plant species. The desert is also home to many cultures as well, with some seventeen Native American cultures, as well as Latino, Chinese, Anglo, Arabic, and African immigrant culture.
Plant Ecology Many plants not only survive the harsh conditions of the Sonoran Desert, but they actually thrive. Many have evolved to have specialized adaptations to the desert climate. The Sonoran Desert includes such plant from the agave family, palm family, cactus family, legume family, and many others.
See also There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...
This is a List of plants by common name (Sonoran Desert), for the Sonoran Desert and local environs; (S California, etc-New Mexico, S, SW or Rio Grande Valley-Northern Mexico states: Sonora, Chihuahua-and Baja California, North and South, and other states of Mexico, and locales of Nevada, Utah...
Sonoran Desert National Monument is located in the U.S. state of Arizona. ...
The Spanish Missions of the Sonoran Desert are a series of religious outposts established by Spanish Catholic Jesuits and other orders to spread the Christian doctrine among the local Native Americans, but with the added benefit of giving Spain a toehold in the frontier lands of its colony of New...
The following birdspecies are endemic to the Sonoran Desert, and related areas. ...
The Yuma Desert is a lower-elevation section of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and the northwest of Mexico. ...
External links
Links to Parks and Recreational Areas within the Sonora Desert
 Colorado River system | | Dams and aqueducts (see US Bureau of Reclamation) | | Shadow Mountain Dam | Granby Dam | Glen Canyon Dam | Hoover Dam | Davis Dam | Parker Dam | Palo Verde Diversion Dam | Imperial Dam | Laguna Dam | Morelos Dam | Colorado River Aqueduct | San Diego Aqueduct | Central Arizona Project Aqueduct | All-American Canal | Coachella Canal | Redwall Dam This article is about arid terrain. ...
The ad-Dahna desert is the central division of the Arabian desert. ...
The Alvord Desert is a desert in the southeastern part of the American state of Oregon. ...
This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
The Aral Karakum desert lies north of the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan. ...
Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert of Chile and Peru is a virtually rainless plateau made up of salt basins (salares), sand, and lava flows, extending from the Andes mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ...
The Baja California desert is a Desert ecoregion of Mexicos Baja California Peninsula. ...
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border. ...
Dasht-e Kavir desert: satellite photograph Dasht-e Kavir (دشت كوير in Persian), also known as Kavir-e Namak or Great Salt Desert is a large desert lying in the middle of the Iranian Plateau. ...
As seen from space Dasht-e Lut is a large salt desert in southeastern Iran. ...
A four wheel drive in the Gibson Desert The Gibson Desert is a Western Australian desert made up of sandhills and dry grass. ...
The Gobi is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia. ...
The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States, commonly defined as the contiguous watershed region, roughly between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, that has no natural outlet to the sea. ...
Location of deserts in Australia This article is about the Australian desert. ...
The Great Victoria Desert is a barren, arid and sparsely populated desert ecoregion in southern Australia. ...
The Kalahari Desert is a large arid to semi-arid sandy area in southern Kgalagadi Africa extending 900,000 km² (562,500 sq. ...
For the desert in Kazakhstan, see Aral Karakum. ...
The Kyzyl Kum (Uzbek: , Kazakh: ), also called Qyzylqum is the 11th largest desert in the world. ...
The Little Sandy Desert is desert in Australia, located in Western Australia near the Great Sandy Desert. ...
For the indigenous American tribe, see Mohave. ...
The Monte Desert, is a South American desert, located within the country of Argentina. ...
Dune 7, one of the highest sand dunes in the world (ca. ...
The Nefud or An-Nafud is a desert area in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula, occupying a great oval depression; 180 mi (290 km) long and 140 mi (225 km) wide. ...
Rock face in the Negev Desert near Beersheba on the way to Eilat. ...
Fragment of Nubian Desert seen from space The Nubian Desert, is in the eastern region of the Sahara Desert, it spans 407, 000 km2 or 157,000 square miles of northeastern Sudan between the Nile and the Red Sea, at . ...
Ordos Desert 1912 The Ordos Desert (Chinese: é„‚å°”å¤šæ–¯æ²™æ¼ ; Pinyin: ÈěrduÅsÄ« ShÄmò) is a desert and steppe region lying on a plateau in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...
Astronaut photography of the Patagonian Desert (most of the view) contrasted with the Rio Lamay, seen flowing eastward from the Andes. ...
Qaidam, also spelt Tsaidam, is an arid basin in Qinghai, western China. ...
The Rub al Khali (الربع الخالي), or Empty Quarter, is the largest sand desert in the world, encompassing the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula, including southern Saudi Arabia, and areas of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. ...
The Ryn Desert or Ryn-Peski Desert, is a desert in western Kazakhstan, north of the Caspian Sea and southeast of the Volga Upland. ...
The Saryesik Atyrau Desert stretches for about 400 km south of Lake Balkhash in eastern Kazakhstan. ...
The Sechura desert is a desert ecoregion of coastal Peru. ...
Ted Colsons expedition across the Simpson Desert in 1936 The Simpson Desert is a desert covering approximately 170,000 square kilometres[1] in central Australia, occupying an area bounded on the west by the Finke River and the Mabel Range, the Adam Range to the north, the Georgina River...
The Strzelecki Desert is located in South Australia. ...
Dust storm in Taklamakan from space, June 25, 2005 The Taklamakan (also Taklimakan) is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...
The Tanami Desert is a desert in northern Australia. ...
A NASA satellite image of the Thar Desert, with the India-Pakistan border superimposed is found in canada, united states. ...
Tihamah or Tihama (Arabic: []) is a narrow coastal region of Arabia on the Red Sea. ...
The Ustyurt Plateau, Ustyurt also spelled Ust-Urt and Usturt (Kazakh: Üstirt, Turkmen: Üstyurt), is a central Asian plateau in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, between the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (768x1024, 146 KB) Summary My picture from the Hoover Dam down the Colorado River taken on August 31, 2001. ...
The Colorado River from the bottom of Marble Canyon, in the Upper Grand Canyon Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View The Colorado River from Laughlin The Colorado River is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 1,450 mi (2,330 km) long...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Pont du Gard, France, a Roman aqueduct built circa 19 BC. It is one of Frances top tourist attractions and a World Heritage Site. ...
The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Formerly the United States Reclamation Service) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior which oversees water development projects in the western United States. ...
The Shadow Mountain Dam is a Zoned Earthfill Dam on the Colorado River in Grand County, Colorado. ...
The Granby Dam is an earthfill dam that dams the Colorado River 5. ...
Glen Canyon Dam on 19 June 2005. ...
Hoover Dam by Ansel Adams Hoover Dam ( ), also known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete gravity-arch dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada. ...
The Davis Dam is a dam on the Colorado River downstream from Hoover Dam (ca. ...
Parker Dam is a concrete gravity-arch dam which spans the Colorado river, at a point 155 miles downstream of Hoover Dam. ...
A picture of Imperial Dam The Imperial Dam is a dam near Yuma, Arizona (USA), built in the 1930s. ...
The Laguna Diversion Dam is an earthfill dam 13 miles Northeast of Yuma, Arizona creating the Laguna Reservior along the Colorado River. ...
The Morelos Dam is the final dam on the Colorado River. ...
Colorado River Aqueduct The Colorado River Aqueduct is a 242-mi (392 km) water conveyance in southern California in the United States. ...
The Central Arizona Project Aqueduct (CAP) is a 336 mi (541 km) diversion canal in Arizona in the United States. ...
The All-American Canal brings Colorado River water to the Imperial Valley in California. ...
| | Natural features | | Colorado River | Rocky Mountains | Colorado River Basin | Grand Lake | Sonoran desert | Mojave desert | Imperial Valley | Colorado Plateau | Grand Canyon | Glen Canyon | Marble Canyon | New River | Paria Canyon | Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez | Salton Sea | | Tributaries | | Dirty Devil River | Dolores River | Escalante River | Gila River | Green River | Gunnison River | Kanab River | Little Colorado River | Paria River | San Juan River | Virgin River | | Major reservoirs | | Fontenelle Reservoir | Flaming Gorge Reservoir | Taylor Park Reservoir | Navajo Reservoir| Lake Powell | Lake Mead | Lake Mohave | Lake Havasu Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View The Colorado River is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 1,450 mi (2,333 km) long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. ...
The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ...
Grand Lake is a natural lake, one of the headwaters of the Colorado River in Grand County, Colorado. ...
Map of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. ...
For the indigenous American tribe, see Mohave. ...
The Imperial Valley and the Salton Sea, as seen from the Space shuttle. ...
The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateaus Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. ...
The Grand Canyon is a very colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in the U.S. state of Arizona. ...
Glen Canyon, in southeastern and south central Utah and northwestern Arizona within the Vermilion Cliffs area, was carved by two rivers, the Colorado River and the San Juan River. ...
Marble Canyon is the section of the Colorado River canyon from Glen Canyon Dam to the confluence with the Little Colorado River, which marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon. ...
The New River is a river that runs from Mexicali, Baja California, in Mexico into the United States through Calexico, California. ...
A backpacker at the confluence of Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River. ...
The Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez or Sea of Cortés; locally known in the Spanish language as Mar de Cortés or, much less frequently, Golfo de California) is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. ...
The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake, located in the Colorado Desert in Southern California, north of the Imperial Valley. ...
Look up tributary in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
The Dirty Devil River near Twin Corral Box Canyon The Dirty Devil River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 80 mi (129 km) long, in south central Utah in the United States. ...
The Dolores River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 250 mi (402 km) long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah. ...
The Escalante River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 90 mi (145 km) long, in southern Utah. ...
The Gila River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the United States The Gila River (Oodham [Pima]: Hila Akimel) is a tributary of the Colorado River, 630 mile (1,014 km) long, in the southwestern United States. ...
The Green River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States. ...
The Gunnison River, a tributary of the Colorado River, is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States The Gunnison River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 180 mi (290 km) long, in the U.S. state of Colorado. ...
The Kanab River is one of the many tributaries of the Grand Canyon. ...
The Little Colorado River is shown highlighted on a map of the United States The Little Colorado River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 315 mi (507 km) long, in the U.S. state of Arizona. ...
A backpacker at the confluence of Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River. ...
Categories: Stub | Colorado rivers | Utah rivers ...
The Virgin River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the southwestern United States The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 200 mi (322 km) long, in the southwestern United States. ...
Fontenelle Reservoir is a reservoir located in southwest Wyoming. ...
Flaming Gorge Reservoir lies 43 miles (69 km) East of Vernal, Utah on the Green River (Utah). ...
The Taylor Park Reservoir is a body of water created by the Taylor Park Dam, which dams the Taylor River of Colorado. ...
The Navajo Reservoir is a reservoir located in the northwest area of New Mexico and the southwest area of Colorado, in the United States. ...
Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona. ...
Panoramic view of Lake Mead. ...
Lake Mohave Lake Mohave is a lake formed by Davis Dam on the Colorado River, which defines the border between Nevada and Arizona in the United States. ...
Lake Havasu is the reservoir behind Parker Dam on the Colorado river. ...
| | Dependent states | | Arizona | California | Colorado | Nevada | New Mexico | Utah (See: Colorado River Compact) | | Designated areas | | Glen Canyon National Recreation Area | Lake Mead National Recreation Area | Coordinates: 32°15′36″N, 112°55′34″W Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area Ranked 6th - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²) - Width 310 miles (500 km) - Length 400 miles (645 km) - % water 0. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area Ranked 8th - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²) - Width 280 miles (451 km) - Length 380 miles (612 km) - % water 0. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area Ranked 5th - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²) - Width 342 miles (550 km) - Length 370 miles (595 km) - % water 0. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area Ranked 13th - Total 84,876 sq mi (219,887 km²) - Width 270 miles (435 km) - Length 350 miles (565 km) - % water 3. ...
The Colorado River Compact is a 1922 agreement among seven U.S. states in the basin of the Colorado River in the American Southwest governing the allocation of the rivers water among the parties of the interstate compact. ...
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Glen Canyon NRA) is a recreation and conservation unit of the National Park Service that encompasses the area around Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona, covering 1,254,429 acres (5,076 km²) of mostly desert. ...
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is located in southern Nevada and northern Arizona. ...
Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...
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