DesertUSA is a comprehensive resource about the North American deserts and Southwest destinations. Learn about desert biomes while you discover how desert plants and animals learn to adapt to the harsh desert environment. Study desert landscapes and how the geologic features unique to the desert regions are formed. Find travel information about national parks, state parks, BLM land, and Southwest cities and towns located in or near the desert regions of the United States. Access maps and information about the Sonoran Desert, Mojave Desert, Great Basin Desert, and Chihuahuan Desert, which lie in the geographic regions of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, and Utah in the United States and into Mexico.
Southwest
Water Resources - A Glimmer of Hope
- It may seem hard, long term, to have much hope. During
the past several decades, major aquifers have become seriously depleted. Stream
flows have declined. Important riverine wetlands and the Colorado River and Rio
Grande deltas have essentially dried up. More...
Free
Standing Art Structures in Borrego Springs
- History is unfolding in Borrego Springs with the placement
of the Gomphotherium free standing art structures. These creatures lived in the
area about 3 million years ago. Dennis Avery, landowner of Galleta Meadows Estates
has added 'free standing art', original steel welded sculptures created by Perris
Jurassic Park's Ricardo Breceda. More...
Surviving
Summer in Death Valley
- The extremes of summer in Death Valley pose the ultimate
test of survival for wildlife. Animals must have special adaptations of both
their bodies and their habits to thrive in the severe climate. The Kangaroo Rat,
Sidewinder and Pupfish are among the most successful, but each in their own unique
way. More...
Discover
the Waters of the Southwest - After living for nearly
two decades on the Texas Gulf Coast, where we owned a 21-foot Wellcraft and fished
the estuaries, the flats, the surf and the offshore waters, I find it somewhat
disorienting when I see sailboats, inboard and outboard power boats and even
houseboats towed or hauled along the freeways across the desert. It seems like
a non sequitur.
After living for awhile in the Southwest, however, I have come to understand that mountain streams, rivers, wetlands and lakes lie at the soul of the region.
The
Desert is Bugged - Enjoy Bug Lighting! - It's
night. It's warm. There is no television in the campground and the kids are bored.
Several moths flutter around the Coleman lamp. An owl hoots, a coyote sings and
the kids whine. It is too early to put them to bed but they have nothing to do.
Or so you think... With the aid of a fluorescent black light, a wide
range of mysterious, beautiful and fascinating creatures will come to you for
your study and inspection. More...
Beat
Arizona's Summer Heat - About 100 miles northeast
of Phoenix, off Arizona State Highway 87, the Mogollon Rim’s forest of
ponderosa pine, pinyon, juniper and scrub oak offers some welcome relief from
the summer heat of the Sonoran Desert. Here, in the heart of Arizona’s
rim country, 5000 to 6000 feet in elevation, you will discover three communities
with considerable charm. More...
Are you interested in the temperatures in the
desert?
Capitol Reef National Park is 378 square miles of colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths. About 75 miles of the long up-thrust called the "Waterpocket Fold", extending like a rugged spine from Thousand Lake Plateau southward to Lake Powell, is preserved within the park boundary. "Capitol Reef" is the name of an especially rugged and spectacular part of the Waterpocket Fold near the Fremont River. More...
Shadow Wolves - In brightest day, in darkest night, no evil shall escape my sight, for I am the Shadow Wolf -- U.S. Customs Patrol Officer motto. More...
Opal - the word comes from the Latin word "opalus," which means precious stone. Opal is a form of non-crystalline quartz, which is created from silica-bearing waters. When the silica solidifies, it creates the gemstone Opal, which contains 6 to 10 percent water. Opal is commonly found near geysers and hot springs, but it can occur in almost any geological environment. More...
