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- Larger Work: Status and trends of the nation's biological resources
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Abstract
The southwestern region of the United States is a land of extremes and contrasts. Elevations vary from below sea level in the Imperial Valley of California to mountain peaks approaching 4,000 meters. Landscapes are striking and variable and include mountains, foothills, canyons, deserts, plains, and rivers. The area is arid or semiarid and, depending on the location, may have mild winters and summers, periods of bitter cold, or intervals of intense heat. Climate is inextricably tied to water and its availability. Historically, water varied from abundant to sparse over the span of a year, and adaptations of native plants and animals reflect those extremes. Annual precipitation, usually in the form of rain, varies from 30 to 40 millimeters in the low-elevation Sonoran Desert to more than 1,000 millimeters in the high mountains (Brown 1982a; Bahre and Shelton 1993). This variation in topography and climate has produced great floral and faunal diversity.
| Publication type | Book chapter |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Book Chapter |
| Title | Southwest |
| ISBN | 016053285X |
| Year Published | 1998 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Fort Collins Science Center |
| Description | 50 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Report |
| Larger Work Subtype | Other Report |
| Larger Work Title | Status and trends of the nation's biological resources |
| First page | 543 |
| Last page | 592 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |