DesertDry land with temperature extremes.High evaporation rates combined with low rain fall keeps deserts dry. Usually less than 25 centimeters of rain falls each year. Most deserts are hot; some northern deserts are cold. Temperatures in all deserts vary greatly from day to night. |
Click on photo for larger image. |
 Click on photo for larger image. |
Sonoran desert Violent storms wash eroded rock down mountains forming fan-shaped slopes and broad plains. Winter and summer rainy seasons nourish two different sets of short-lived plants. Trees and tree-like cacti, thorny bushes, shrubby cacti, and perennial grasses dominate. |
Featured animals |
|
| Common name | Scientific name |
| Scorpion | Spp not identified |
| Gila monster | Heloderma suspectum |
| Desert massassagua | Sistrurus catenatus edwardsi |
| Sage grouse | Cetrocercus urophasianus |
| Greater roadrunner | Greococcyz californianus |
| Cactus wren | Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus |
| Kangaroo rat | Dipodomys sp. |
| Mule deer | Odocoileus hemionusabove |
