Cylindropuntia fulgida, the Jumping cholla, also known as the hanging chain cholla, is a cactus

Cactus

A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...

 that is native to the Southwestern United States

Southwestern United States

The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...

 and northern Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.
The greatest range of the jumping cholla is the entire of Sonora

Sonora

Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....

, except the Sierra Madre Occidental

Sierra Madre Occidental

The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.-Setting:The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins...

 cordillera on the east and northeast; the range stops 100 mi north of the Sinaloa

Sinaloa

Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....

 border on the south, and it is not found in the northwest in the Gran Desierto de Altar

Gran Desierto de Altar

The Gran Desierto de Altar is one of the major portions of the Sonoran Desert of Mexico, including the only active erg dune region in North America. It extends across much of the northern border of the Gulf of California, reaching more than 100 kilometers east to west, and over 50 km north to...

. It does occur on the islands in the Gulf of California

Gulf of California

The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...

, including the major islands of Tiburon

Tiburón Island

Tiburón Island is both the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Tiburón is Spanish for shark. The etymology of the Seri name is unknown...

 and Isla Ángel de la Guarda

Isla Ángel de la Guarda

Isla Ángel de la Guarda, also called Archangel Island, and called Xazl Iimt east of Bahía de los Ángeles, and separated from the Baja California Peninsula by the Canal de Ballenas . It is the second largest of the eleven Midriff Islands or Islas Grandes. It is part of the state of Baja California,...

.

In the Southwestern United States, the range extends into the Colorado Desert

Colorado Desert

California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...

 of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, and in Arizona.