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Chihuahuan Desert

The Sierra Madre Occidental Mountain Range
The Sierra Madre Occidental towers- as much as 10,000 feet- above the desert floor.
© Jeff Weigel/The Nature Conservancy
 

Located between Mexico's eastern and western Sierra Madre mountain ranges and extending into Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, the Chihuahuan Desert is the largest in North America.

Location

The 175,000 square-mile Chihuahuan Desert extends from southeastern Arizona across southern New Mexico and west Texas. It reaches south to San Luis Potosi in Mexico, bordered by the Sierra Madre Occidental to the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental to the east.

Animals

The mountains and valleys of the Chihuahuan Desert provide habitat for a surprising variety of wildlife, including:

  • Mountain lions
  • Mexican wolves
  • Black-tailed and Mexican prairie dogs
  • Coahuilan box turtle

Plants

  • Lechugilla
  • Ocotillo
  • Mesquite
  • Acacia
  • Yucca

Why the Conservancy works here

Located in the rain-shadow of the Western Sierra Madre Mountains, this region receives an average of only nine inches of rain per year. The Chihuahuan Desert's variation in elevation (between 1,000 and 10,000 feet) and temperature (from more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit to below-freezing temperatures) creates a harsh environment. Surprisingly, it also provides habitat for a remarkable diversity of life.

Tobosa grasslands
Storm clouds roll over the Tobosa grasslands of the Chihuahuan Desert.
© Sonia Meyer/The Nature Conservancy
 

The Chihuahuan Desert is a center of cactus diversity—many of which can be found nowhere else on Earth—with more than 400 species. In addition, the region supports a tremendous variety of bats, migratory birds, and endemic aquatic species.

Key threats to the area include diversion of surface water for agriculture, pumping of ground water for crop irrigation, alfalfa and cattle feedlots, introduction of exotic species that displace resident fish, over grazing, over harvesting of native species such as mesquite, gypsum mining in the area and urban development.
 

What the Conservancy is doing

In order to most effectively leverage limited conservation resources, the Conservancy is focusing its efforts on the following key conservation areas within the Mexican portion of the Chihuahuan Desert.

Cuatro Ciénegas Valley: Collaborating with local landowners, the Conservancy and its partner Pronatura Noreste are working together in an effort to implement a strategic plan to permanently protect the Cuatro Ciénegas Valley — which contains the best remaining example of only two desert spring ecosystems in North America.

Janos Valley Grasslands: In the Janos grasslands, located just south of the Arizona-New Mexico border, the Conservancy is pursuing land protection strategies to safeguard intact ecosystems that provide habitat for a variety of endangered species.

La Soledad/Saltillo Grasslands: Working with partners, the Conservancy is protecting critical migratory bird and Mexican prairie dog habitat in this region south of Saltillo, Mexico. Strategies include the establishment of state protected areas, land acquisition, community outreach and education and establishment of conservation easements.