D is for….

D is for Desert.  The Sonoran Desert, that is!  Where you may be asking yourself is the Sonoran Desert?  Well, the Sonoran Desert is located in North America, and covers large parts of the Southwestern United States in Arizona, California, Northwest Mexico in Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur.  It’s one of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, and covers an area of 120,000 square miles.  I’ve read that back in the 1800s and early 1900s people traveling through my state, Arizona, referred to the desert (and the state) as “hell on earth”.  While I love the heat, there are a lot of people who don’t!  🙂

What surprised me most was when I was researching how many animals live in the Sonoran Desert.  I didn’t realize that our desert is home to 60 mammal species, 350 bird species, 20 amphibian species, over 100 reptile species, 30 native fish species, over 1,000 native bee species, and more than 2,000 native plant species.  This is amazing, because when I’m out hiking I really don’t see a lot of animals out and about.  Another interesting tidbit is that the Sonoran Desert area southwest of Tucson and near the Mexican border is home for the only population of Jaguars living within the United States (I didn’t know that either).

The Sonoran Desert is the only place in the world where the famous Saguaro cactus grows in the wild. These cacti can tower above the landscape, and live 200+ years!

I’ve heard some people complain about living out here – they say there’s only one color, and that’s brown.  They’re wrong.  There’s all kinds of color here in the desert – you just have to be willing to open your eyes and look.  I hope you’ll continue to come along with me as we travel the different hiking trails!

      

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