The Low Desert is a common name for any desert in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

that is under 2,000 feet (609.6 m) in altitude. These areas include, but are not exclusive to, the

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado De ...

and Yuha Desert, in the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

portion 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 Arizon ...

. These areas are distinguished in biogeography from the adjacent northern High Desert or

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily i ...

by latitude, elevation, animal life, climate, and

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and enterta ...

plant communities A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...

.Deserts at California Natural Resources Agency web site

Communities

The cities and towns in the Low Desert include: *

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacin ...

area **

Bermuda Dunes Bermuda Dunes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Riverside County, California. The population was 7,282 at the 2010 census. Bermuda Dunes is located near Indio and east of Palm Springs. The community's former name was ''Myoma''. The Bermuda Du ...

Cathedral City Cathedral city is a city status in the United Kingdom. Cathedral city may also refer to: * Cathedral City, California, a city in Southern California, United States * Cathedral City Cheddar, a brand of Cheddar cheese * Cathedral City High Sch ...

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind "Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind" is a song by Ame ...

Desert Hot Springs Desert Hot Springs is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region. The population was 25,938 at the 2010 census, up from 16,582 at the 2000 census. The city has ex ...

** Indian Wells **

Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índio ...

** La Quinta **

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...

Palm Desert Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population ...

Thermal A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

Thousand Palms Thousand Palms is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 7,715 at the 2010 census, up from 5,120 at the 2000 census. Geography Thousand Palms is located at . I ...

Imperial Valley , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

area ** Brawley ** Calexico **

El Centro El Centro ( Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban ...

Lower Colorado River Valley The Lower Colorado River Valley (LCRV) is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Gulf of ...

area **

Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People *Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...

** Palo Verde ** Winterhaven *

Borrego Springs Borrego Springs (''Borrego'', Spanish for "Sheep") is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 3,429 at the 2010 census, up from 2,535 at the 2000 census, made up of both seasonal and year-round resi ...

Parks

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (, '' AN-zə bə-RAY-goh'') is a California State Park located within the Colorado Desert of southern California, United States. The park takes its name from 18th century Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza a ...

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to the Mojave Desert. Original ...

– northern portion of Low Desert *

Salton Sea State Recreation Area The Salton Sea State Recreation Area offers hunting, fishing, swimming, and camping to visitors on the northeastern side of the Salton Sea. Recreation The Salton Sea State Recreation Area is run by the California Department of Parks and Recreati ...

* Indio Hills Palms Park *

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument is a National Monument in southern California. It includes portions of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountain ranges, the northernmost ones of the Peninsular Ranges system. The nation ...

Big Morongo Canyon Preserve The Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is a 31,000-acres (130 km2) native plants habitat and wildlife preserve located in the Little San Bernardino Mountains of the Transverse Ranges, in the transition zone between the higher Mojave Desert and lowe ...

Wildlife refuges and wilderness areas

Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area in Riverside County, California's Coachella Valley. It lies within the unincorporated community of Thousand Palms, just north of Palm Desert. The refuge contains the majority of cri ...

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge The Imperial National Wildlife Refuge protects wildlife habitat along of the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California, including the last un-channeled section before the river enters Mexico. The Imperial Refuge Wilderness, a federally ...

Havasu National Wildlife Refuge Havasu National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California. It preserves habitat for desert bighorn sheep, the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, and other animals. The refug ...

* Cibola National Wildlife Refuge *

Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge The Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Imperial Valley of California, north of the Mexico, Mexican border. Situated at the southern end of the Salton Sea, the refuge protects one of the most important nesting sites ...

Fish Creek Mountains Wilderness The Fish Creek Mountains Wilderness is located about 25 miles west of Brawley, California, and southeast of the Vallecito Mountains in the United States. The wilderness is located in the Fish Creek Mountains region in the northern part of the ...

* Santa Rosa Wilderness *

Indian Pass Wilderness The Indian Pass Wilderness is wilderness area under the administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The reserve is located in the very southeastern part of the Chocolate Mountains, in the southeastern part of California, just to the west of ...

* Whipple Mountains Wilderness *

Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness The Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness is a federal wilderness area of located in the Sawtooth Mountains in eastern San Diego County, California. It is located in the Colorado Desert, south of Borrego Springs, near Anza Borrego Desert State Pa ...

Little Picacho Wilderness The Little Picacho Wilderness is a wilderness area under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management. The wilderness is found in a southeast extension of the Chocolate Mountains adjacent to the Colorado River, in the southeastern part o ...

References

Deserts of California • Regions of California Deserts of the Lower Colorado River Valley . . . . Geography of Southern California Inland Empire Desert Coachella Valley Imperial Valley Blythe, California Indio, California Palm Springs, California {{ImperialCountyCA-geo-stub

Communities

Parks

Wildlife refuges and wilderness areas

See also

References