Chihuahuan Desert

The terrain mostly consists of Basin s broken by numerous small Mountain Range s.

Several larger mountain ranges include the Sierra Madre , the Sierra Del Carmen , the Sacramento Mountains , the Sandia-Manzano Mountains , the Magdalena-San Mateo Mountains, the Chisos , the Guadalupe Mountains and the Davis Mountains . These create "sky islands" of cooler, wetter, Microclimate s within the desert and have both coniferous and broadleaf woodlands and even forests.

The Chihuahuan Desert is higher in elevation than the Sonoran Desert to the west, mostly varying from 600 m to 1,675 m (1,970-5,500 feet) in altitude. As a consequence it tends to have a slightly milder climate in the summer (though usually daytime June temperatures are in the range of 35 to 40 °C, or 95 to 104 °F). Winter weather varies from relatively mild to quite cold depending on altitude. Precipitation is somewhat more abundant than most of the southern Great Basin and the Sonoran and Mojave deserts, however it is still less than 10 inches (254 mm) per year, with much of the rain falling during the " Monsoon " of late summer. Snowfall is scant except at the higher elevations.

The Chihuahuan Desert is an ecoregion that has received little exploration and study. Therefore, it has not been classified and had subdivisions applied to it, as has the Sonoran Desert to the west.

VEGETATION

See: Agave , Creosote Bush , Lechuguilla , Mesquite , Prickly Pear , Sotol , Yucca , Grasses

SEE ALSO

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Chihuahuan Desert

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