Chihuahuan Desert

The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border. On the U.S. side it occupies much of central and southern New Mexico and Texas west of the Pecos River; south of the border, it covers the northern half of the Mexican state of Chihuahua and most of Coahuila.

Related Topics:
Desert - U.S.-Mexico border - U.S. - New Mexico - Texas - Pecos River - Mexican - State - Chihuahua - Coahuila

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

Related Topics:
Basin - Mountain range

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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.

Related Topics:
Sacramento Mountains - Guadalupe Mountains - Davis Mountains - Microclimate

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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.

Related Topics:
Sonoran Desert - June - Precipitation - Great Basin - Mojave - Monsoon

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