Chihuahuan desert

The Chihuahuan desert is a desert mainly situated in much of central and southern New Mexico, Texas west of the Pecos River and the northern half of the Mexico states of Chihuahua and most of the Mexican state of Coahuila.

The terrain mostly consists of basins broken by numerous small mountain ranges.

Several larger mountain ranges, including the Sacramento Mountains the Guadalupe Mountains and the Davis mountains create "islands" of cooler, rainier, microclimates within the desert, and have conifer forests.

The Chihuahuan desert is higher in elevation than the Sonoran Desert to the west, mostly varying from 600m to 1675m (1,970-5,500 feet) in altitude. As a consequence, it tends to have a slighly milder climate in the summer (though usually daytime June temperatures are in the range of 35-40° C or 95-104°F). Winter weather often varies from relatively mild to quite cold. Precipitation is somwhat more abundant than most of the southern Great Basin, Sonoran, and Mojave deserts, however it is still less than 10 inches of 254mm per year, with much of the rain falling during the "monsoon" of late summer. Snowfall is scant except the higher elevations.

Vegetation

See: Agave -- Creosote bush -- Mesquite -- Prickly pear-- Yucca -- Grasses

(more to come)