Low Desert
Encyclopedia
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...
and Yuha Desert
Yuha Desert
The Yuha Desert is a section of the Sonoran Desert located in the Imperial Valley of California; south of Interstate 8, west of El Centro, CA, and north of the international border....
in the Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
portion of the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
. It is distinguished in biogeography
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
from the adjacent northern High Desert
High Desert (California)
The High Desert is an unofficial and vaguely-defined geographic area of southern California located to the northeast of the San Gabriel Mountains. The term "High Desert" is used most commonly by the news media, especially in weather forecasts, and in the names of businesses and organizations...
or Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
by latitude, elevation, climate, and native
Native plant
Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area...
plant communities.
Communities
The cities and towns in the Low Desert include:- in the Coachella ValleyCoachella ValleyCoachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
area- Bermuda DunesBermuda Dunes, CaliforniaBermuda Dunes is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California. The population was 7,282 at the 2010 census, up from 6,229 at the 2000 census. Bermuda Dunes is located near Indio and east of Palm Springs....
- Borrego SpringsBorrego Springs, CaliforniaBorrego Springs is a census-designated place in San Diego County, California. The population was 3,429 at the 2010 census, up from 2,535 at the 2000 census. Many residents are seasonal while others remain year round...
- Cathedral CityCathedral City, CaliforniaCathedral City is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 51,200 at the 2010 census. Sandwiched between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, it is one of the cities in the Coachella Valley of southern California...
- Desert Hot SpringsDesert Hot Springs, CaliforniaDesert Hot Springs, also known as DHS, is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region, sometimes referred to as the Desert Empire. The population was 25,938 at the 2010 census, up from 16,582 at the 2000 United States...
- Indian WellsIndian Wells, CaliforniaIndian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
- IndioIndio, CaliforniaIndio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, and east of Los Angeles. It is about north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border...
- Palm DesertPalm Desert, CaliforniaPalm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
- Palm SpringsPalm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
- Rancho Mirage, CaliforniaRancho Mirage, CaliforniaRancho Mirage is a resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal population can exceed 20,000. In between Cathedral City and Palm Desert, it is one of the eight cities of the Coachella...
- Bermuda Dunes
- in the Imperial ValleyImperial ValleyThe Imperial Valley is an agricultural area of Southern California's Imperial County. It is located in southeastern Southern California, centered around the city of El Centro. Locally, the terms "Imperial Valley" and "Imperial County" are used synonymously. The Valley is bordered between the...
area- BrawleyBrawley, CaliforniaBrawley is a city in Imperial County, California, United States. Brawley is located north of El Centro. The population was 24,953 at the 2010 census, up from 22,052 at the 2000 census. The town has a significant cattle and feed industry, and hosts the annual Cattle Call Rodeo. Year-round...
- CalexicoCalexico, CaliforniaCalexico is a city in Imperial County, California. The population was 38,572 at the 2010 census, up from 27,109 at the 2000 census. Calexico is about east of San Diego and west of Yuma, Arizona...
- El CentroEl Centro, CaliforniaEl Centro is a city in and county seat of Imperial County, the largest city in the Imperial Valley and the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban area and principal city of the El Centro metropolitan area which encompasses all of Imperial County. El Centro is also...
- Brawley
- in the Lower Colorado River ValleyLower Colorado River ValleyThe Lower Colorado River Valley is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Sea of Cortez in northwestern Mexico, between the states of Baja...
area- BlytheBlythe, CaliforniaBlythe is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the "Palo Verde Valley" of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River. Blythe was named after Thomas Blythe, a gold prospector who established primary...
- Palo VerdePalo Verde, CaliforniaPalo Verde is a census-designated place in Imperial County, California. Palo Verde is located on the Riverside County line northeast of El Centro, The population was 171 at the 2010 census, down from 236 at the 2000 census. It is part of the 'El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area'...
- WinterhavenWinterhaven, CaliforniaWinterhaven is a census-designated place in Imperial County, California. Winterhaven is located east of Pilot Knob, The population was 394 at the 2010 census, down from 529 at the 2000 census. It is part of the 'El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area'...
- Blythe
Parks
- Anza-Borrego Desert State ParkAnza-Borrego Desert State ParkAnza-Borrego Desert State Park is a state park located within the Colorado Desert of Southern California. The park takes its name from 18th century, Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and borrego, the Spanish word for bighorn sheep...
and the - Joshua Tree National ParkJoshua Tree National ParkJoshua Tree National Park is located in southeastern California. Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act , it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936. It is named for the Joshua tree forests native to the park...
- southern portion in Low Desert - Salton Sea State Recreation AreaSalton Sea State Recreation AreaLocated on the northeastern side of the Salton Sea, the Salton Sea State Recreation Area offers hunting, fishing, swimming, and camping to visitors.-Recreation:The Salton Sea State Recreation Area is run by the California Department of Parks and Recreation....
- Indio Hills Palms ParkIndio Hills PalmsIndio Hills Palms State Reserve and the Coachella Valley Preserve, located in the Indio Hills, contain the 1,000 Palms Oasis, and are a protected area in the Coachella Valley, located east of Palm Springs near Palm Desert, California...
- Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National MonumentSanta Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National MonumentThe Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument is a National Monument in Southern California. It includes portions of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountain ranges, the northernmost ones of the Peninsular Ranges system...
- Big Morongo Canyon PreserveBig Morongo Canyon PreserveThe Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is a 31,000 acres native plants habitat and wildlife preserve located in the Little San Bernardino Mountains of the Transverse Ranges, in the transition zone between the higher Mojave Desert and lower elevation Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran...
Wildlife Refuges and Wilderness areas
- Coachella Valley National Wildlife RefugeCoachella Valley National Wildlife RefugeCoachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area in the Coachella Valley, located east of Palm Springs near Palm Desert, California...
- Imperial National Wildlife RefugeImperial National Wildlife RefugeThe Imperial National Wildlife Refuge protects wildlife habitat along of the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California, including the last un-channeled section before the river enters Mexico...
- Havasu National Wildlife RefugeHavasu National Wildlife RefugeHavasu National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California. It preserves habitat for desert bighorn sheep to the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, birds and other animals. The refuge protects 30 river miles - of shoreline -...
- Cibola National Wildlife RefugeCibola National Wildlife RefugeCibola National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge in the floodplain of the lower Colorado River between Arizona and California and surrounded by a fringe of desert ridges and washes. The refuge encompasses both the historic Colorado River channel as well as a channelized portion...
- Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife RefugeSonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife RefugeThe Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge is located north of the Mexican border at the southern end of the Salton Sea in California’s Imperial Valley. Situated along the Pacific Flyway, the Refuge is the only one of its kind, located below sea level...
- Fish Creek Mountains WildernessFish Creek Mountains WildernessThe Fish Creek Mountains Wilderness is located about 25 miles west of Brawley, California, and southeast of the Vallecito Mountains in the United States...
- Santa Rosa WildernessSanta Rosa WildernessThe Santa Rosa Wilderness is a wilderness area in Southern California, in the Santa Rosa Mountains of Riverside and San Diego counties, California. It is in the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert, above the Coachella Valley and Lower Colorado River Valley regions in a Peninsular...
- Indian Pass WildernessIndian Pass WildernessThe Indian Pass Wilderness is wilderness area under the administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The reserve is located in the very southeastern part of the Chocolate Mountains, in the southeastern part of California, just to the west of the Colorado River in the Lower Colorado River Valley...
- Whipple Mountains WildernessWhipple Mountains WildernessThe Whipple Mountains Wilderness is a wilderness administered by the Bureau of Land Management . Most of the Whipple Mountains are within the wilderness area. It is located in the northeastern Colorado Desert near the Colorado River. Lake Havasu and Lake Havasu City are to the south . Earp,...
- Sawtooth Mountains WildernessSawtooth Mountains WildernessThe Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness is a federal wilderness area of located south of Borrego Springs, California in San Diego County. This land was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System when the US Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act of 1994...
- Little Picacho WildernessLittle Picacho WildernessThe Little Picacho Wilderness is a wilderness area under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management. The wilderness is found in a southeast extension of the Chocolate Mountains adjacent to the Colorado River, in the southeastern part of California...
See also
- Category: Populated places in the Colorado Desert
- Category: Protected areas of the Colorado Desert
- Category: Wilderness Areas within the Lower Colorado River Valley
- Category: Flora of the California desert regions
- Category: Mountain ranges of the Colorado Desert