- The Mojave Desert spans much of southeastern California, part of Central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and northwestern Arizona.
- The Sonoran Desert lies south of the Mojave Desert in California and across southern Arizona, and stretches into Mexico.
- The Great Basin Desert covers a small portion of eastern California, and much of Nevada, western Utah, and southern Idaho.
- The Chihuahan Desert occupies parts of southeastern Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (west of the Pecos River), and stretches into Mexico.
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| This helpful map from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum shows some of the ecoregions of America's southwest, including much of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, and parts of the Great Basin and Chihuahan deserts. |
What's the Difference?
Each of these deserts have plant and wildlife that are different in some ways, and overlapping in other ways. Each ecoregion varies in the amount of precipitation they receive, when the precipitation usually falls (winter or summer), and average low and high temperatures. Although they are all deserts because they receive relatively little rain (generally evaporation rates exceed precipitation rates), some plants rely on rains in specific seasons to bloom, or cannot tolerate freezing temperatures as well as others.Aren't Deserts Wastelands?
No. Some people consider deserts to be wastelands devoid of life because of the hot temperatures and low-lying vegetation. However, each of America's deserts are biologically diverse, hosting plant, reptile, mammal, amphibian and bird species that are very well adapted to the heat and lack of water. There are wildflower seeds that will lie dormant for years until enough rain falls to ensure successful germination, plants that only open pores to take in carbon at night to avoid losing moisture during the day, and birds that can build nests in cacti. Even the sand dunes are home to specialized life, such as the Mojave fringe-toed lizard, which have special scales that let it run across the sand without sinking, and wildflowers that prefer the sandy soils. Where can I learn more about deserts?
You can check out the following online websites:
Basin and Range Watch -- This group of desert biologists put together a great website. They give a lot of coverage to the threats to the deserts in Nevada and California, and provide a very informative look at the desert plant and wildlife (with amazing photographs) that we stand to lose.
Desert Protective Council -- The DPC focuses mostly on the Sonoran Desert in California, and produces a great newsletter that can help keep you informed on happenings in the desert.
Mojave Desert Land Trust -- If you want to get involved in land stewardship, the MDLT sponsors frequent volunteer outings to restore desert landscapes in the Mojave Desert.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum -- The Desert Museum has a great digital library where you can learn about the plant and wildlife of the Sonoran desert.
Chihuahan Desert Nature Center -- The Nature Center website provides information and photographs of this ecoregion.
If you want to visit some of our natural treasures in the deserts, you can check out the following National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and State park sites. Keep in mind there are great opportunities to visit and enjoy our deserts outside of official park boundaries, and this list is not comprehensive:
Mojave National Preserve
Joshua Tree National Park
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Death Valley National Park
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (BLM)
BLM California Desert District Wilderness Areas
BLM Arizona Office Wilderness Areas
BLM Nevada Office Wilderness and Conservation Areas
White Sands National Monument in New Mexico
