- General facts about this region
- Lower California Desert Climate
- Relief, flora and fauna
Separate geographical names appear spontaneously, that is, the discoverers of these places do not bother to invent beautiful, poetic toponyms. The Lower California Desert got its name only because it is located in the western part of the California Peninsula.
A person who does not know geography, based on the toponym, can put forward a version that this desert region is located in the state of California, which belongs to the United States of America. But that would be a mistake, since the peninsula and the part occupied by the desert belong politically to Mexico.
General facts about this region
According to the information, the Lower California Desert is part of the so-called Baia ecoregion, located in Mexico, more specifically, on the territory of its two states - Baja California and Baja California Sur, it is obvious that these place names served as the basis for such a name for the desert.
In the "biography" of the desert, there is a beautiful figure - 77,700 kilometers, this is exactly its area according to scientists' estimates. Its neighbor to the west is the great Pacific Ocean, which has a strong influence on the weather and climate not only of the coast, but also of territories farther from the ocean.
In the east, the Lower Californian desert is "propped up" by chaparral, or thickets of bush oak, which is a typical representative of subtropical hard-leaved vegetation. Further inland, chaparral is replaced by woodlands.
On the southern tip of the island, the xeric forests, characteristic of this ecoregion, rise to the desert, and in the north - Sierra Juarez and San Pedro Martyr, pine forests and oak groves received such beautiful names from the local population. True, at present, many representatives of this kingdom are under human protection, since the massifs have suffered great damage (as a result of the economic activities of the same person).
Lower California Desert Climate
It is clear that since these territories have been defined as "desert", there is dry, cloudless weather throughout the year, that is, a dry subtropical climate. The total amount of precipitation is very low, but still the conditions in this desert are not as harsh as those of its “friends” or “competitors”.
This is due to the fact that the Pacific Ocean is nearby, which softens the climate, making it a little more humid and not so hot. There is a big difference between the climatic conditions of the Lower California Desert and the Sonoran Desert, which is located on the same peninsula, but occupies the eastern slopes.
Relief, flora and fauna
The Lower Californian desert is a combination of various landforms, among which the following are dominant:
- vast flat areas located in the coastal zone;
- plains and flat plateaus, the height of which varies from 300 to 600 meters above sea level;
- mountain ranges in the western part of the central region up to 1500 meters high.
Such a variety of landscapes, in turn, provides an opportunity for the normal existence, development, reproduction of many species of flora and fauna.
The territories of the Lower California Desert are mainly covered with xerophytic shrubs and annual plants, which are common inhabitants of the arid regions of the planet. They withstand drought and high temperatures well, and are characterized by adaptation to conditions. Another feature of xerophytic plants is the presence of extreme periods, that is, the shortest possible periods during which the plant has time to germinate, mature and yield seeds.
On the territory of this desert, biologists have counted over 500 species of so-called vascular plants (i.e. higher). Many of them are endemic and are not found anywhere else on the planet, such as the creeping devil or the bojum tree. The name of the first plant means that it survives in the harshest conditions. In some regions of the Lower California Desert, you can find different types of pine, including Jeffrey pine, or prickly pine.
The fauna of this desert is represented, first of all, by reptiles, various reptiles. Baja California fish (which has the same name as the ecosystem of the region) meets in local lakes. In the National Parks you can meet mules and deer, rams, coyotes, rabbits. The zest of the fauna of the parks is about thirty species of bats, of the birds there are - the eagle, woodpecker, black vulture.
There are several national parks on the peninsula, including the Sierra de San Pedro and the Martyr National Park. The main task of the employees working in these protected areas is the preservation of representatives of different types of conifers, first of all, several types of pines.
