The Monte Desert is a

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

desert, lying entirely within

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and covering approximately the submontane areas of Catamarca,

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, an ...

, San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza Provinces, plus the western half of La Pampa Province and the extreme north of

Río Negro Province Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Its capi ...

. The desert lies southeast of the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in th ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, north of the larger

Patagonian Desert The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonian Steppe, is the largest desert in Argentina and is the 8th largest desert in the world by area, occupying 673,000 square kilometers (260,000 mi2). It is located primarily in Argentina and ...

, east of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

and west of the

Sierra de Córdoba Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and " saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain rang ...

Geography and climate

The delineations between the Monte Desert, the Atacama Desert, and the Patagonian Desert are not exact and the desert seems to be more-or-less continuous with the other two nearby deserts. The geography of the land is very similar to that of the interior Patagonian Desert, with volcanic sediments,

piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

plains, large mountain blocks and many usually dry salt lakes. The major river is the Río Colorado and its tributary the Río Desaguadero, which meet in the south of the region and provide its principal source of irrigation water for wine crops. Due to the region lying on the eastern, or leeward, side of the Andes and west of the Sierra de Córdoba, it experiences very little rain. These rain shadow effects are the primary reason for the aridity of the region and the formation of the Monte and other nearby deserts. Although a difference between this desert and the other two deserts is the lack of intensity of effect from the cold water currents off the South American coast for the Monte Desert. This allows the desert to support a wider variety of life than the other two more extreme deserts.

Flora and fauna

The flora of the region is much more diverse than the nearby Patagonian Desert (which contains mainly shrubs and grasses) and the Atacama Desert (which is pretty much devoid of life). Shrubs and grasses are not only common, but tall cacti even appear in the more hospitable areas of the desert. The fauna of the area is also very similar to that of the Patagonian Desert, only in greater diversity and number due to the Monte's more hospitable conditions. Small mammals like mice abound and larger animals like the

guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco ...

and

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...

can be found as well. The

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

has named on of their '

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

s' after this desert: NT0802.

References

{{coord missing, Argentina Ecoregions of Argentina Deserts of Argentina Deserts and xeric shrublands

Geography and climate

Flora and fauna

See also

References