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{{Short description|Largest desert in North America}}
{{Infobox ecoregion
|name = Chihuahuan Desert
|
|image_size =
|
|caption = Chihuahuan desert landscape in [[Big Bend National Park]]
|map = Chihuahuan Desert map.svg
|map_size = 250
|map_alt =
|map_caption = Location map of Chihuahuan Desert
|ecozone = [[Nearctic realm|Nearctic]]
|biome = [[Deserts and xeric shrublands]]
|animals =
|bird_species =
|mammal_species =
|border = [[Arizona Mountains forests]]
|border1 = [[Colorado Plateau shrublands]]
|border2 = [[Edwards Plateau savanna]]
|border3 = [[Meseta Central matorral]]
|border4 = [[Sierra Madre Occidental pine–oak forests]]
|border5 = [[Sierra Madre Oriental pine–oak forests]]
|border6 = [[Sonoran Desert]]
|border7 = [[Tamaulipan matorral]]
|border8 = [[Tamaulipan mezquital]]
|border9 = [[Western short grasslands]]
|area = 501,896
|country = [[Mexico]]
|country1 = [[United States]]
|state = [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]]
|state1 = [[Coahuila]]
|state2 = [[Durango]]
|state3 = [[Nuevo León]]
|state4 = [[Sonora]]
|state5 = [[Zacatecas]]
|state6 = [[Arizona]]
|state7 = [[New Mexico]]
|state8 = [[Texas]]
|region_type =
|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
|
|
|habitat_loss_ref =
|coordinates = {{coord|30|32|26|N|103|50|14|W|scale:5000000|display=inline,title}}
|protected = {{cvt|35,905|km2|sqmi}} (7
|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 Chihuahuan Desert, including the [[Sierra Madre Oriental|Sierra Madre]], the [[Sierra del Carmen]], the [[Organ Mountains]], the [[Franklin Mountains (Texas)|Franklin Mountains]], the [[Sacramento Mountains (New Mexico)|Sacramento Mountains]], the [[Chisos Mountains]], the [[Guadalupe Mountains]], and the [[Davis Mountains]]. These create "[[sky island]]s" of cooler, wetter, [[climate]]s adjacent to, or within the desert, and such elevated areas have both coniferous and broadleaf woodlands, including forests along drainages and favored exposures. The lower elevations of the [[Sandia–Manzano Mountains]], the Magdalena–San Mateo Mountains, and the [[Gila Wilderness|Gila]] Region partly border the Chihuahuan Desert and partly border other ecoregions that are not deserts.
There are few urban areas within the desert: the largest is [[Ciudad Juárez]] with almost two million inhabitants; [[Chihuahua, Chihuahua|Chihuahua]], [[Saltillo, Coahuila|Saltillo]], and [[Torreón, Coahuila|Torreón]]; and the US cities of [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]] and [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]]. [[Alamogordo, New Mexico|Alamogordo]], [[Alpine, Texas|Alpine]], [[Benson, Arizona|Benson]], [[Carlsbad, New Mexico|Carlsbad]], [[Carrizozo, New Mexico|Carrizozo]], [[Deming, New Mexico|Deming]], [[Fort Stockton, Texas|Fort Stockton]], [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico|Fort Sumner]], [[Las Cruces, New Mexico|Las Cruces]], [[Marfa, Texas|Marfa]], [[Pecos, Texas|Pecos]], [[Roswell, New Mexico|Roswell]], and [[Willcox, Arizona|Willcox]] are among the other communities in this ecoregion. Safford and Benson in Arizona are located in low elevations of the western edges of the Chihuahuan Desert, but in an [[ecotone]] with the [[Sonoran Desert]].
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| 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==
[[File:Antelope, Otero Mesa NM.jpg|left|thumbnail|
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 cernua]]'') dominate northern portions, while broom dalea (''[[Psorothamnus scoparius]]'') occurs on sandy soils in western portions. ''[[Yucca]]'' and ''[[Opuntia]]'' species are abundant on slopes and uplands in most areas, while Arizona rainbow cactus (''[[Echinocereus polyacanthus]]'') and Mexican fire-barrel cactus (''[[Ferocactus pilosus]]'') inhabit portions near the US–Mexico border.
[[Herbaceous plant]]s, such as bush muhly (''[[Muhlenbergia porteri]]''), blue grama (''[[Bouteloua gracilis]]''), gypsum grama (''[[Bouteloua breviseta|B. breviseta]]''), and hairy grama (''[[Bouteloua hirsuta|B. hirsuta]]''), are dominant in desert grasslands and near the mountain edges including the Sierra Madre Occidental. Lechuguilla (''[[Agave lechuguilla]]''), honey mesquite (''[[Prosopis glandulosa]]''), ''[[Opuntia macrocentra]]'' and ''[[Echinocereus pectinatus]]'' are the dominant species in western [[Coahuila]]. Ocotillo (''[[Fouquieria splendens]]''), lechuguilla, and ''[[Yucca filifera]]'' are the most common species in the southeastern part of the desert. Candelilla (''[[Euphorbia antisyphilitica]]''), ''[[Mimosa zygophylla]]'', ''[[Acacia glandulifera]]'' and lechuguilla are found in areas with well-draining, shallow soils. The shrubs found near the Sierra Madre Oriental are exclusively lechuguilla, guapilla (''[[Hechtia glomerata]]''), Queen Victoria's agave (''[[Agave victoriae-reginae]]''), sotol (''[[Dasylirion]]'' spp.), and barreta (''[[Helietta]] [[Helietta parvifolia|parvifolia]]''), while the well-developed [[herbaceous layer]] includes grasses, [[Fabaceae|legumes]], and cacti.
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 mutica]]'') along floodplain or bottomland areas.<ref name="WWF"/>
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://books.google.com/books?id=EEz8yAMp7SAC&pg=PR7|title=Global Deserts Outlook|publisher=United Nations Environment Programme|year=2006|isbn=9789280727227}}</ref>
==Protected areas==
A 2017 assessment found that {{cvt|35,905|km2|sqmi}}, or 7%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.<ref name = dinerstein/> Protected areas include [[Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge]] in Arizona; [[Janos Biosphere Reserve]], [[Médanos de Samalayuca Natural Protected Area]] and [[Cañón de Santa Elena Flora and Fauna Protection Area]] in Chihuahua; [[Cuatro Ciénegas Basin]], [[Ocampo Flora and Fauna Protection Area]], and part of [[Maderas del Carmen|Maderas del Carmen Biosphere Reserve]] in Coahuila; [[Mapimí Biosphere Reserve]] and [[Cañón de Fernández State Park]] in Durango; [[Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge]], [[Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge]], [[Carlsbad Caverns National Park]], [[Carrizozo Malpais]], [[Oliver Lee Memorial State Park]], [[Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument]], [[Petroglyph National Monument]], [[Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge]], and [[White Sands National Park]] in New Mexico; and [[Big Bend National Park]], [[Big Bend Ranch State Park]], Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, [[Franklin Mountains State Park]], and part of [[Guadalupe Mountains National Park]] in Texas.
==Gallery==
<gallery
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>
== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=23em}}
*[[List of deserts by area]]
*[[List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)]]
*[[List of geographical regions in Texas]]
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*[[Pecos River]]
*[[Samalayuca Dune Fields]]
*[[Sky islands]]
*[[Solitario]] formation
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*[[Trans-Pecos]]
*[[West Texas]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{
==External links==
{{Commons category|Chihuahuan Desert}}
*{{WWF ecoregion |id=na1303 |name=Chihuahuan desert}}
*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/51303frame.htm Chihuahuan Desert images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu] ([http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/51303.htm slow modem version])
*[http://www.pronaturane.org/eng/ecoregions/chd.htm: Pronatura Noreste in the Chihuahuan Desert]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
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{{Deserts}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Chihuahuan Desert| ]]
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[[Category:Mexican Plateau]]
[[Category:Southwestern United States]]
[[Category:Natural history of Chihuahua (state)]]
[[Category:Natural history of Coahuila]]
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[[Category:Geography of Nuevo León]]
[[Category:Geography of Zacatecas]]
[[Category:Madrean Region]]
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