What and Where is the Sonoran Desert?
The idea of a desert for many people conjures an image of shifting sand dunes or barren rocks devoid of vegetation and obvious animal life or habitation. Such areas do exist within the Sonoran Desert but for the most part this is a lush desert that receives 120 to 300 mm of precipitation each year. This is also a hot desert with daytime temperatures reaching or exceeding 40° C for much of the summer season, May to September, while hard freezes are uncommon during the mild winters. A very unique feature of the Sonoran Desert is that the rain arrives during two wet seasons, one generally December through March, the other July through Sept. The lack of hard freezes and moisture distributed through the year has promoted the abundance of succulents that can store water for later use. The area generally recognized as the Sonoran Desert includes the southwestern third of Arizona, a small area of southeastern California, most of Baja California del Norte and the western half of Sonora, Mexico.
