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Owing to its inland position and higher elevation than the [[Sonoran Desert]] to the west, mostly varying from {{convert|480| to |1800|m|0|abbr=on}} in elevation,<ref name= EOE >{{cite web | url = http://www.eoearth.org/article/Chihuahuan_desert | title = Chihuahuan Desert | publisher = Encyclopedia of Earth | access-date = February 16, 2013}}</ref> the desert has a slightly milder climate in the summer (though usually daytime June temperatures are in the range of {{convert|32|to|40|C|F|abbr=on|disp=or}}), with mild to cool winters and occasional to frequent freezes.<ref name= NPS1 /> The hottest temperatures in the desert occur in lower elevation areas and valleys, including near the Rio Grande from south of El Paso into the Big Bend, and the Bolson de Mapimi.<ref name= EOE /> A subtropical temperature regime describes lower elevations in the Texas Big Bend region up to the Presidio and Candelaria areas, then southward into similar elevations, while a warm temperate temperature regime describes higher elevations and further north. The average annual temperature in the desert varies from about {{convert|13|to|22|C|F}}, depending on elevation and latitude.
The mean annual precipitation for the Chihuahuan Desert is {{convert|235|mm|in|abbr=on}} with a range of approximately {{convert|150|–|400|mm|0|abbr=on}}, although it receives more precipitation than most other warm desert ecoregions.<ref name= NMSU /> Nearly two-thirds of the arid zone stations have annual totals between {{convert|225|and|275|mm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>[http://museum.utep.edu/chih/pdf/chihuahuanclimate.pdf Chihuahuan Climate] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060906101600/http://museum.utep.edu/chih/pdf/chihuahuanclimate.pdf |date=September 6, 2006 }}, Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute</ref> Snowfall is scant except at the higher elevation edges. Northern and eastern portions have more definite winters than southern and western portions, receiving a portion of winter precipitation as snowfall most winters.<ref name= NPS1 />
==Flora==
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