The Lechuguilla Desert is a small desert located in southwestern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

near the U.S.-

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

border. It is considered to be part of the Lower Colorado Valley region of the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...

. It lies in a north–south direction between the Gila Mountains and the Cabeza Prieta Mountains, and almost entirely in the

Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range The Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range or Barry M. Goldwater Range (BMGR), formerly known as Luke Air Force Range, is a bombing range in the U.S. state of Arizona, between the Mexico–United States border and Interstate 8 straddling the Cabeza Pr ...

. The desert is named after the

Lechuguilla ''Agave lechuguilla'' (common name in Chihuahua: ''lechuguilla'', meaning "small lettuce") is an ''Agave'' species endemism, found only in the Chihuahuan Desert. The plant flowers once in its life and then dies. Description The plant reprodu ...

plant, known scientifically as ''Agave lecheguilla'', which occurs exclusively in the Chihuahuan desert many hundreds of miles to the east. The desert is also on the north border of the

Gran Desierto de Altar The Gran Desierto de Altar is one of the major sub-ecoregions of the Sonoran Desert, located in the State of Sonora, in northwest Mexico. It includes the only active erg dune region in North America. The desert extends across much of the northern ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

, Mexico. The Lechuguilla Desert lies to the east-northeast of the connected ranges, Gila Mountains, and north of the

Tinajas Altas Mountains The Tinajas Altas Mountains ( O'odham: Uʼuva:k or Uʼuv Oopad) are an extremely arid northwest–southeast trending mountain range in southern Yuma County, Arizona, approximately 35 mi southeast of Yuma, Arizona. The southern end of the rang ...

, which extend southeast into north Sonora. To the west and southwest of the two ranges lies the

Yuma Desert The Yuma Desert is a lower-elevation section of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and the northwest of Mexico. It lies in the Salton basin. The desert contains areas of sparse vegetation and has notable areas of sand dunes. With ...

. The

Tule Desert (Arizona) The Tule Desert is a small desert located in southwestern Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico border. It is considered to be part of the Lower Colorado Valley region of the Sonoran Desert. It lies in a north–south direction to the east of the Cabeza ...

lies east of the Lechuguilla, and the Cabeza Prieta Mountains; all three deserts are at the northwest perimeter of the great desert, the Gran Desierto de Altar, and the

Pinacate Peaks The Pinacate Peaks (Sierra Pinacate, ood, Cuk Doʼag) are a group of volcanic peaks and cinder cones located mostly in the Mexican state of Sonora along the international border adjacent to the U.S. state of Arizona, surrounded by the va ...

volcanic field region.

References

* Mapquest.com Road Atlas, 2001, pg. 9
Sonoran Desert
{{Coord, 32.4181104, -113.9832679, display=title Deserts of Arizona Sonoran Desert Deserts of the Lower Colorado River Valley Deserts of the Gran Desierto de Altar

See also

References