dry or desert like conditions, having very little moisture with average annual rainfall of less than 10 inches.
Valley of Fire, Nevada
Nevada's oldest state park, located in the Mojave Desert and dedicated in 1935, covers almost 35,000 acres. Its name is derived from the red sandstone formations created by ancient shifting sand dunes. Average annual rainfall is about 4 inches.
Grand Canyon, Arizona (taken from the North Rim)
This National Park, covering over 1.2 million acres on the Colorado Plateau, is also a World Heritage Site. Consisting of several major ecosystems, great biodiversity exists here.The inner canyon is xeric, receiving only about 9 inches of rain a year.
Sonoran Desert (Phoenix area)
One of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, covering 120,000 square miles just south of the Mojave Desert, the Sonoran Desert can be found in the US states of Arizona and California and the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Sonora. A unique variety of flora and fauna exist here such as the saguaro cacti seen in the above photo. Average annual rainfall varies from 3 inches to 16 inches. Many areas are xeric such as Phoenix with just over 8 inches of rainfall per year. (Arizona is the only state that has all four North American deserts--Sonoran, Mojave, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin.)
LINKS:
Valley of Fire:
official websitemy post "Still Exploring"
Grand Canyon:
official websiteSonoran Desert:
Desert USA
biomes of the Sonoran Desert
photos by me © 2009 and 2010
Great photos! That was really interesting about Arizona and the four deserts!!
ReplyDeletenever heard that word before. Isn't it just amazing how much space there is in the US? Great photos! {:-D
ReplyDeleteYou found a great X. I didn't play today because we're getting ready to head back north to NC. We're snowbirds and besides I couldn't think of any X either...lol...
ReplyDeleteThe picture from the Grand Canyon makes me nervous. I really want to take my kids there, but they are all too young and I envision them jumping under the railing and...well, you know.
ReplyDeleteBut the pictures without kids are great!!
I flew over the canyon and surrounding desert a while back and I could not believe how red the earth was. Looking forward to seeing it from the ground one day.
ReplyDeleteThe Mojave desert seems like a very interesting place .
ReplyDeleteOne day I'm going to come out there and visit the desert. I find it facinating -it's such an alien landscape compared to our green English pastures and rolling hills.
ReplyDeleteI first experienced the Sonoran Desert in 1986, and fell in love with it! Now I live in it, and I love it even more! Thanks for a great post!!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Hawaii, so the first time I visited the Mojave, it was a shock to my system. Very alien to what I knew. Then I visited Sodona, AZ. I was ready to pack up and move there forever. I still hope to go back someday soon.
ReplyDeleteThat is a fabulous new vocabulary word - xeric- makes a great 'x' post! Loved the pictures, especially the rock formations in the Valley of Fire. Makes me want to go visit.
ReplyDeleteI went to 10th, 11th, and 12th grade in southern New Mexico...and we had xeric conditions with some dusty storms...
ReplyDeleteWe were talking the other day about the eXtreme marathons done in the desert! Whew!
The photos you shared are amazing! The mountains look like from another world...
Blessings & Aloha!
And thank you soooo much for stopping by my past quilt posts!
What an interesting and informative post! I love those pictures.
ReplyDeleteWe travelled through this region in the 90th, it was wonderful !
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post and perfect for the Letter X.
ReplyDeleteI am a Buckeye, too.
Someday I'd like to visit the desert, but til then I'll just enjoy posts like this one. I actually knew what Xeric meant!
ReplyDeleteIt looks so wonderful
ReplyDeleteI want visit your country :P
Xeric?! I had never heard that word. Great pick! I was brought up in Bakersfield CA, where we got bearly 6.5 inches of rainfall per year. It's hot there! We got so little rain, that I learned to love it, when it did come. I now live in a rainy place-the NW--and I really enjoy the rain--lots of it! No more Xeric! Just had to use it one more time to learn a new word! :)
ReplyDeleteFunny how xeric doesn't sound like it would mean "dry". Probably that slurpy "s" sound. I'd like to visit Valley of Fire again and see how much it has changed in 20 years or so. Thanks for dropping by my blog. I appreciate your comment. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I live in Utah--also a desert--so I appreciate great pictures of xeric places. :-D Thanks for stopping by my blog.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful landscape! I hope to go to Arizona one day..
ReplyDeleteThat might just be the coolest "x" word I've ever learned about :) And great photos as always!
ReplyDeleteSorry taken so long to comment had cold all week and not been on PC much
ReplyDeleteloved it super X words
Man! Living in Arizona this is a perfect word for our climate.
ReplyDeleteI actually didn't know this word, but I will totally use it now!
Thanks for teaching me something new this week.
A+ and my apologies for my late visit!
Brilliant choice for the letter x.
ReplyDeleteI have spend a lot of time in the deserts of Nevada but somehow never seem to make it to Arizona. We have even explored the Baja section of the Sonoran. Maybe the next vacation will have to be AZ.