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{{Short description|
{{Infobox ecoregion
|name = Chihuahuan Desert
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|elevation =
|geology =
|seas = Non
|rivers = [[Rio Grande]]
|climate = [[Hot desert climate|Hot desert]] (''BWh'') and [[hot semi-arid climate|hot semi-arid]] (''BSh'')
|soil =
|conservation = Vulnerable
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|habitat_loss_ref =
|coordinates = {{coord|30|32|26|N|103|50|14|W|scale:5000000|display=inline,title}}
|protected = {{cvt|35,905|
|protected_ref = )<ref name = dinerstein>{{cite journal |first1=Eric |last1=Dinerstein |first2=David |last2=Olson |first3=Anup |last3=Joshi |display-authors=2 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |at=pp. 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|embedded =
}}
The '''Chihuahuan Desert''' ({{lang-es|Desierto de Chihuahua}}, {{lang|es|Desierto Chihuahuense}}) is a [[desert]]
==Geography==
[[File:Chihuahuan Desert from South Rim BIBE.jpg|left|thumbnail|The terrain mainly consists of [[Drainage basin|basin]]s broken by numerous small [[mountain range]]s.]]
There are several larger mountain ranges in the
There are
According to the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] the Chihuahuan Desert may be the most biologically diverse desert in the world as measured by species richness or endemism. The region has been badly degraded, mainly due to grazing.<ref name="WWF">{{WWF ecoregion |id=na1303 |name=Chihuahuan desert|access-date=2010-10-22}}</ref> Many native grasses and other species have become dominated by woody native plants, including creosote bush and mesquite, due to [[overgrazing]] and other urbanization. The [[Mexican wolf]], once abundant, was nearly extinct and remains on the endangered species list.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lobos of the Southwest| url=https://mexicanwolves.org/|website=Mexican Wolves|access-date=20 December 2017}}</ref>
==Climate==
The desert is mainly a [[rain shadow]] desert because the two main mountain ranges
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 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 /> ==Flora==
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[[File:Antelope, Otero Mesa NM.jpg|left|thumbnail|A [[Pronghorn|Pronghorn antelope]] among [[yucca]]s in the [[Otero Mesa]].]]
The creosote bush (''[[Larrea tridentata]]'') is the dominant plant species on gravelly and occasional sandy soils in valley areas within the Chihuahuan Desert. The other species found with creosote bush depend on factors including the soil type, elevation, and degree of slope. Viscid acacia (''[[Vachellia vernicosa]]''), and tarbush (''[[Flourensia
[[Herbaceous plant]]s, such as bush muhly (''[[Muhlenbergia porteri]]''), blue grama (''[[Bouteloua gracilis]]''), gypsum grama (''[[Bouteloua breviseta|B. breviseta]]''),
Desert or arid grasslands comprise 20% of this desert and are often mosaics of shrubs and grasses. They include purple three-awn (''[[Aristida purpurea]]''), black grama (''[[Bouteloua eriopoda]]''), and sideoats grama (''[[Bouteloua curtipendula]]''). Early Spanish explorers reported encountering grasses that were "belly high to a horse"; most likely these were big alkali sacaton (''[[Sporobolus wrightii]]'') and tobosa (''[[Pleuraphis
The United Nations Environment Programme reported in 2006 that nearly half of the bird, mammal, and butterfly species in the Chihuahuan Desert are expected to be replaced by other species by 2055 due to climate change.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://
==Protected areas==
A 2017 assessment found that {{cvt|35,905|
==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="
File:Creosote Larrea tridentata.JPG|Young [[Larrea tridentata|creosote bush]] (''Larrea tridentata'')
File:VanHornTX 2008.jpg|[[Yucca]],
File:Agave lechuguilla habitus.jpg|Lechuguilla (''[[Agave lechuguilla]]'')—one of the indicator plants of the Chihuahuan Desert
File:Spring Water coahuila MEXICO - panoramio.jpg|Poza Azul, one of many a springs in the [[Cuatro Ciénegas Basin]] in central [[Coahuila]], Mexico (2009).
</gallery>
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