Where is sonoran desert in arizona

This is the hottest of our North American deserts , but a distinctly bimodal rainfall pattern produces a high biological diversity.

Winter storms from the Pacific nourish many West Coast annuals such as poppies and lupines, while well-developed summer monsoons host both annuals and woody plants originating from the south. Freezing conditions can be expected for a few nights in winter. Trees are usually well developed on the desert ranges and their bajadas. Often abundant on these well-drained soils are little-leaf palo verdes , desert ironwoods, catclaw and saguaro.

The understory consists of three, four or even five layers of smaller woody shrubs. Tall chollas may occur in an almost bewildering array of species. The alluvial lowlands host communities of desert saltbush, wolfberry and bursage. On coarser soils, creosote bush and bursage communities may stretch for miles.

Where the water table is high, honey or velvet mesquite may form dense bosques or woodlands. Other species are restricted to alkaline areas. Stream sides may be lined with riparian woodlands composed of Arizona ash, Arizona black walnut, Fremont cottonwood and various willows, with a dense understory of arrow-weed, seepwillow and carrizo.

Or strap in for a Hummer or Blazer tour of the desert with Stellar Adventures. Water recreation in the desert? You bet! Check one off the bucket list with Hot Air Expeditions or Rainbow Ryders when you soar over the Sonoran Desert in the basket of a hot-air balloon. Guests are invited to mingle at a chic community table and tuck into multicourse meals crafted by local chefs, against backdrops such as the Superstition Mountains, the buttes of Papago Park or open spaces set against an iconic Southwestern backdrop.

These intra-city road trips allow you to travel from Point A to Point Beautiful…and be back home in…. Experience bucket-list destinations—such as Grand Canyon National Park and Sedona—by day and be back…. A leisurely float puts river goers up close to wild mustangs, blue herons and bald eagles. From December to March frontal storms from North Pacific Ocean occasionally bring widespread, gentle rain to the northwestern areas. From July to mid-September, the summer monsoon brings surges of wet tropical air and frequent but localized violent thunderstorms.

The Sonoran Desert prominently differs from the other three North American Deserts in having mild winters; most of the area rarely experiences frost. About half of the biota is tropical in origin, with life cycles attuned to the brief summer rainy season. The winter rains, when ample, produce huge populations of annuals which comprise half of the species in our flora. Forrest Shreve defined seven vegetative subdivisions in the s. One the Foothills of Sonora has since been reclassified as foothills thornscrub, a non-desert biome.

The status of two other subdivisions - Arizona Upland and Plains of Sonora - may also be reclassified. Lower Colorado River Valley — Named for its location surrounding the lower Colorado River in parts of four states, this is the largest, hottest, and driest subdivision. Summer highs may exceed F Annual rainfall in the driest sites averages less than three inches 75 mm , and some localities have gone nearly three years with no rain.

Even so, life exists here, abundantly in the rare wet years. See additional images in the report on Ironwood Forest National Monument. The geography is mostly broad, flat valleys with widely-scattered, small mountain ranges of mostly barren rock. There is also a sand sea the Gran Desierto and the spectacular Pinacate volcanic field.

The valleys are dominated by low shrubs, primarily creosote bush Larrea divaricata and white bursage Ambrosia dumosa. These are the two most drought- tolerant plants in North America, but in driest areas of this subdivision even they are restricted to drainage courses i.

Trees are found only in the larger washes. The mountains support a wider variety of shrubs and cacti, but the density is very sparse. Columnar cacti, one of the indicators of the Sonoran Desert, are rare virtually absent in California and restricted to drainages. This is the only part of the Sonoran Desert that extends into California, where it is usually called the Colorado Desert.

North of a sagging line between Palm Springs and Needles, California, it merges almost imperceptibly with the lower Mohave Desert. Arizona Upland — Image galleries are associated with each season below. See more images in the Ironwood Forest National Monument web pages.

This northeastern section, mostly in south-central Arizona and northern Sonora, is the highest and coldest subdivision of the Sonoran Desert. The terrain contains numerous mountain ranges, and the valleys are narrower than in the Lower Colorado River Valley subdivision. Trees are common on rocky slopes as well as drainages, and saguaros are found everywhere but on the valley floors. This community is also called the saguaro-palo verde forest.

It is the only subdivision that experiences frequent hard winter frosts, so many species of the lower elevation and more southerly subdivisions cannot survive here.

Nevertheless it is a rich area. The small range that is the Desert Museum's home, the Tucson Mountains, has a flora of more than taxa. An ever-increasing number of biologists is concluding that the Arizona Upland's climate, vegetation density, and biodiversity resemble thornscrub more than desert. Don't be surprised if this subdivision is reclassified as thornscrub in the future. Tucson is the only major city located in Arizona Upland.

Callers may dial zero for the phone attendant. Voicemail is available for many of the extensions. Explore This Park. Info Alerts Maps Calendar Reserve. Alerts In Effect Dismiss. Dismiss View all alerts. The Sonoran Desert.