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Sonoran Desert, Arizona and California

Location and Size

The Sonoran Desert, sometimes called the Gila Desert, is the hottest in North America.

It extends from southern Arizona and the extreme south of California into northern Mexico, including most of Baja California. It is bordered on the west by a line running north-south through the town of Borrego Springs, California, on the north by I-10 in California and I-40 in Arizona and on the east by US191 in Arizona.

The Sonoran Desert covers an area of approximately 120,000 square miles. For comparison, the area of England is 50,356 square miles.

Description

The Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona is the desert of Hollywood's "wild west", complete with giant saguaro cacti. The saguaro and many other types of cacti can be seen throughout this region, but especially at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona adjacent to the Mexican border south-southwest of Phoenix and at the two units of the Saguaro National Park near Tucson, again in Arizona.

That part of the Sonoran Desert which lies in the extreme south of California is called the Colorado Desert because of its proximity to the Colorado River.

Creosote bushes are widespread and form the dominant vegetation across many parts of the Sonoran desert. However, there is a considerable variety of vegetation in many parts of this desert.

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Most recently modified 16-Oct-99