With an area of approximately 362,000 square kilometers and the title “third largest desert in the western hemisphere”, the Chihuahua desert It’s one of those places that is definitely worth seeing at least once in a lifetime. The landscape we find ourselves in front of is unfamiliar to many, so much so that one could easily think it might even be part of another planet.
Where is the Chihuahuan Desert?
The Chihuahuan Desert is quite far from our country: it occupies part of Mexico and the United States. In particular, it conquers much of west Texas, parts of southern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and the central and northern Mexican Plateau.
To the west it is framed by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental, while to the east it is surmounted by the northern part of the Sierra Madre Oriental.
Not only is it a desert, it is also an ecoregion, as defined by WWF, meaning a “relatively large unit of land or water containing a distinct assemblage of species and natural communities, the boundaries of which approximate the original extent of natural communities before the correspond to great deserts”. Changes in land use”.
What to expect from the visit
Given its almost infinite dimensions, it is clear that in a place like this one can easily find several completely different environments. As already mentioned, huge mountain ranges stand out here and enchant with their profiles. Examples are the Sierra Madre, the Sierra del Carmen, the Sierra de los Órganos and many more.
Imposing peaks that manage to give life to real “islands” where the climate is cooler and wetter, so there are forested areas of coniferous and deciduous trees, as well as dense forests along the rivers.
“Bouquets” are easy to spot in these areas creosote (Larrea tridentata), the dominant plant species in the areas characterized by gravel and occasionally sandy soils of the valleys.
Also appreciated are Acacia neovernicosa and Flourensia cernua, which are instead the queens of the northern part of the ecoregion, while Psorothamnus scoparius is the species most easily encountered on western sandy soils. There is no shortage of species of the genera Yucca and Opuntia, especially at the edges of the foothills and in the central part, as well as the typical cacti Echinocereus polyacanthus and Ferocactus pilosus near the US-Mexico border.
A lush vegetation of all kinds, which is certainly not limited to what we have told you about. One of the strangest plants is peyote (Lophorra williamsii), a cactus known for its hallucinogenic effects, but which is absolutely forbidden in most states.
In terms of fauna, in the Chihuahuanian desert you can find species that move over long distances, such as the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and the jaguar (Panthera onca) . and much more.
Flying in the sky are birds like the Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), Crooked-billed Mime (Toxostoma curvirostre), Scaly Quail (Callipepla squamata), Golden Oriole (Icterus parisorum) and many more.
There is no shortage of endemic lizards, sinister snakes and a wide variety of insects.
useful information
It is possible Visit part of the Chihuahuan Desert by participating in organized tours. However, we advise you to have great respect for the territory you are crossing: according to the WWF, Chihuahua is the desert with the greatest biodiversity, both in terms of species richness and endemics.
Unfortunately, the region is not what it used to be, largely due to overgrazing and human encroachment. Suffice it to say that many grasses and other native species have been replaced by higher species such as creosote and mesquite. Not to mention the once plentiful Mexican wolf, which unfortunately has now completely disappeared from this part of the world.