Sonoran Desert 309715 225595829 2008-07-14T13:56:14Z Sardanaphalus 427947 updating link using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] [[Image:Mojave-sonoran deserts.png|thumb|Map of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.]] [[Image:sonoran desert mountains.jpg|thumb|Mountains in the Sonoran Desert]] The '''Sonoran Desert''' (sometimes called the '''Gila Desert''' after the [[Gila River]] or the '''Low Desert''' in opposition to the higher [[Mojave Desert]]) is a [[North America]]n [[desert]] which straddles part of the [[United States-Mexico border]] and covers large parts of the [[U.S. state]]s of [[Arizona]] and [[California]] and the [[Mexican state]]s of [[Sonora]] and [[Baja California]]. It is one of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, with an area of 311,000 [[square kilometer|km²]] (120,000 [[square mile|mi²]] ). The desert contains a variety of unique plants and animals, such as the [[saguaro]] cactus. On [[January 17]], [[2001]], 2,008 km² (496,337 [[acre]]s) of the Sonoran Desert was set aside as the [[Sonoran Desert National Monument]] for the purpose of enhancing resource protection.<ref>[http://www.blm.gov/az/sonoran/council.htm Sonoran Desert National Monument], Bureau of Land Management, U. S. Department of the Interior. Accessed on line [[October 21]], [[2007]].</ref> ==Location== The Sonoran Desert wraps around the northern end of the [[Gulf of California]], from northeastern [[Baja California]] through southeastern [[California]] and southwestern [[Arizona]] to western [[Sonora]]. It is bounded on the west by the [[Peninsular Ranges]], which separate it from the [[California chaparral and woodlands]] and [[Baja California desert]] ecoregions of the Pacific slope. To the north, the Sonoran Desert transitions to the cold-winter [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]], [[Great Basin]], and [[Colorado Plateau]] deserts. To the east, the deserts transition to the [[Temperate coniferous forests|coniferous]] [[Arizona Mountains forests]] and [[Sierra Madre]] [[Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests|Occidental forests]] at higher elevations. The [[Sonoran-Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest]] marks the transition from the Sonoran Desert to the tropical dry forests of [[Sinaloa]]. The desert's sub-regions include the [[Colorado Desert]] and [[Yuma Desert]]. In the 1951 publication, ''Vegetation of the Sonoran Desert'', Forrest Shreve divided the Sonoran Desert into seven regions according to characteristic vegetation: Lower Colorado Valley, Arizona Upland, Plains of Sonora, Foothills of Sonora, Central Gulf Coast, Vizcaino Region, and Magdalena Region. (see ''An Overview of the Sonoran Desert'', external link below). Many ecologists now consider Shreve's Vizcaino and Magdalena regions, which lie on the western side of the Baja California Peninsula, to be a separate [[ecoregion]], the [[Baja California desert]]. == Ecology == The Sonoran Desert includes 60 mammal species, 350 bird species, 20 amphibian species, 100+ reptile species, 30 native fish species, and more than 2000 native plant species. Despite the common stereotype that it does not rain in deserts, the Sonoran Desert is considered the wettest desert in the world, receiving 3 to 15 inches per year<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9068712/Sonoran-Desert Sonoran Desert]''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' Online</ref> (depending on location in the desert). ===Flora=== Many plants not only survive the harsh conditions of the Sonoran Desert, but they actually thrive. Many have evolved to have specialized adaptations to the desert climate. The Sonoran Desert includes such plant from the agave family, palm family, cactus family, legume family, and many others. This desert is the only place in the world where the famous [[saguaro cactus]] grows in the wild. ==Population== The desert is home to seventeen aboriginal American cultures. The largest city in the Sonoran Desert is [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], [[Arizona]], [[United States|U.S.A.]] This metropolitan area in central Arizona is one of the fastest-growing [[United States metropolitan areas|metropolitan area]] in the United States, with a population of 4 million.<ref name="census">[http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/CBSA-EST2006-01.csv Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 (CBSA-EST2006-01)], [[United States Census Bureau]], [[2007-04-05]]. Accessed [[2007-09-11]].</ref> In the North Phoenix area, desert is losing ground to development at a rate of approximately 4,000 [[square meter|m<sup>2</sup>]] (1 [[acre]] ) per hour.<ref>[http://researchmag.asu.edu/stories/ewan.html Make No Small Plans], Adelheid Fischer, ''ASU Research'' magazine. Accessed on line [[October 15]], [[2007]].</ref> The next largest cities are [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]], in southern [[Arizona]], [[United States|U.S.A.]], with a metro area population of around 900,000,<ref name="census" /> and [[Mexicali]], [[Baja California]], [[Mexico]], whose [[Municipalities of Mexico|municipality]] also has a population of around 900,000. The municipality of [[Hermosillo]], [[Sonora]], [[Mexico]] has a population of around 700,000.<ref>[http://www.inegi.gob.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/sistemas/conteo2005/localidad/iter/ Principales resultados por localidad 2005], Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática (Mexico). Accessed on line [[October 15]], [[2007]].</ref><ref>[http://www.bajacalifornia.gob.mx/english/Our_State/proyecciones.jsp Population Projections], state government of Baja California, Mexico. Accessed on line [[October 15]], [[2007]].</ref> == References == {{Refimprove|date=October 2007}} {{reflist}} == See also == {{Commons}} *[[List of deserts by area]] *[[List of plants by common name (Sonoran Desert)]] *[[:Category:Communities in the Sonoran Desert|Communities in the Sonoran Desert]] *[[:Category:Fauna of the Sonoran Desert|Fauna of the Sonoran Desert]] *[[:Category:Mountain ranges of the Sonoran Desert|Mountain Ranges of the Sonoran Desert]] *[[Sonoran Desert National Monument]] *[[Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert]] *[[List of Sonoran Desert birds (Arizona)]] *[[Yuma Desert]] ==External links== *[http://www.desertmuseum.org/ Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum] *[http://www.oneworldjourneys.com/sonoran/index2.html Timeline of the Sonoran desert] *[http://alic.arid.arizona.edu/sonoran/documents/mcginnies/McGinnies_overview.html ''An Overview of the Sonoran Desert'', by William G. McGinnies] *[http://arizonensis.org/sonoran/ The Sonoran Desert Naturalist] *[http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~are-p/road_map/eco/geology.html#sonoran Very short overview of Sonoran Desert Geology] *[http://alic.arid.arizona.edu/sonoran/documents/mcginnies/mcginniesmap.html Map of the Sonoran Desert] *[http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na1310_full.html Sonoran desert (World Wildlife Fund)] *[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/51310frame.htm Sonoran Desert images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu] ([http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/51310.htm slow modem version]) ===Links to parks and recreational areas within the Sonoran Desert=== *[http://www.nps.gov/sagu/ Saguaro National Park Page] *[http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/PARKS/hikesoth.html South Mountain Park / Preserve] {{Geography topics}} {{Physical geography topics}} {{Deserts}} {{Colorado_River_system}} {{coor title dms|32|15|36|N|112|55|34|W|region:MX_type:landmark}} [[Category:Deserts and xeric shrublands]] [[Category:Nearctic]] [[Category:Sonoran Desert| ]] [[Category:Deserts of Arizona]] [[Category:Deserts of California]] [[Category:Deserts of Mexico]] [[Category:Ecoregions of Mexico]] [[Category:Global 200 ecoregions]] [[Category:Physiographic sections]] [[bn:সোনোরান মরুভূমি]] [[ca:Desert de Sonora]] [[de:Sonora-Wüste]] [[et:Sonora kõrb]] [[es:Desierto de Sonora]] [[eo:Sonora-dezerto]] [[eu:Sonorako basamortua]] [[fa:بیابان سونورا]] [[fr:Désert de Sonora]] [[it:Deserto di Sonora]] [[lt:Sonoros dykuma]] [[nl:Sonorawoestijn]] [[ja:ソノラ砂漠]] [[pl:Pustynia Sonora]] [[pt:Deserto de Sonora]] [[ro:Deşertul Sonora]] [[ru:Сонора (пустыня)]] [[fi:Sonoran aavikko]] [[sv:Sonoraöknen]] [[uk:Сонора (пустеля)]] [[zh:索诺兰沙漠]]