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40-1104: There are several larger mountain ranges in the Chihuahuan Desert, including the Sierra Madre , the Sierra del Carmen , the Organ Mountains , the Franklin Mountains , the Sacramento Mountains , the Chisos Mountains , the Guadalupe Mountains , and the Davis Mountains . These create " sky islands " of cooler, wetter, climates adjacent to, or within the desert, and such elevated areas have both coniferous and broadleaf woodlands, including forests along drainages and favored exposures. The lower elevations of

80-558: A decoction of the leaves as an emetic , and applied the boiled leaves as poultices to wounds or sores. Tohono O'odham Indians prepared it medicinally for stiff limbs, snake bites, and menstrual cramps. The shrub is still widely used as an herbal medicine in Mexico. In other uses, the reddish-colored lac that exudes from the plant was used by the Tohono O'odham , after boiling, to make a mending glue on broken pottery. Larrea tridentata

120-453: A horse"; most likely these were big alkali sacaton ( Sporobolus wrightii ) and tobosa ( Pleuraphis mutica ) along floodplain or bottomland areas. The United Nations Environment Programme reported in 2006 that nearly half of the bird, mammal, and butterfly species in the Chihuahuan Desert are expected to be replaced by other species by 2055 due to climate change. A 2017 assessment found that 35,905 km (13,863 sq mi), or 7%, of

160-418: A plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and gobernadora ( Spanish for "governess") in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In Sonora, it is more commonly called hediondilla ; Spanish hediondo = "smelly". It is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae . The specific name tridentata refers to its three-toothed leaves. Larrea tridentata

200-755: A portion of winter precipitation as snowfall most winters. The creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ) is the dominant plant species on gravelly and occasional sandy soils in valley areas within the Chihuahuan Desert. The other species found with creosote bush depend on factors including the soil type, elevation, and degree of slope. Viscid acacia ( Vachellia vernicosa ), and tarbush ( Flourensia cernua ) dominate northern portions, while broom dalea ( Psorothamnus scoparius ) occurs on sandy soils in western portions. Yucca and Opuntia species are abundant on slopes and uplands in most areas, while Arizona rainbow cactus ( Echinocereus polyacanthus ) and Mexican fire-barrel cactus ( Ferocactus pilosus ) inhabit portions near

240-545: Is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico . The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera , a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America , Central America , South America , and Antarctica . Spanning 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) the Sierra Madre Oriental runs from

280-436: Is a brown-burgundy spherical, fuzzy capsule, which separates into five individual carpels each containing one seed. Galls may form by the activity of the creosote gall midge . The whole plant exhibits a characteristic odor of creosote , from which the common name derives. In the regions where it grows, its smell is often associated with the "smell of rain". These animals eat creosote bush: The Arabian camel , brought to

320-576: Is a prominent species in the Mojave , Sonoran , and Chihuahuan Deserts of western North America, and its range includes those and other regions in portions of southeastern California , Arizona , southern Nevada , southwestern Utah , New Mexico , and Texas in the United States, and Chihuahua , Sonora , Coahuila , Nuevo León , Zacatecas , Durango and San Luis Potosì in Mexico. The species grows as far east as Zapata County, Texas , along

360-483: Is characterized by woody shrubs, small trees, cacti , and succulents . Montane chaparral is found above 1,700 m (5,600 ft) and is home to species in the genera Quercus , Arbutus , Yucca , Cercocarpus and Bauhinia . Piedmont scrub occurs below 2,000 m (6,600 ft) and is composed of plants 3 to 5 m (9.8 to 16.4 ft) in height such as Helietta parvifolia , Neopringlea integrifolia and Acacia spp. The canopy of moist forests

400-518: Is dominated by trees up to 30 m (98 ft) in height, including Brosimum alicastrum , Manilkara zapota , Celtis monoica , Bursera simaruba , Dendropanax arboreus , and Sideroxylon capiri . Birds of the forest include the Mexican chickadee , Montezuma quail , Strickland's woodpecker , zone-tailed hawk and several species of jay . Pine-oak forests in Coahuila are part of

440-410: Is often referred to as chaparral when used as a herbal remedy and supplement; however, it does not grow in the synonymous plant community chaparral . The United States Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about the health hazards of ingesting chaparral or using it as an internal medicine, and discourages its use. In 2005, Health Canada issued a warning to consumers to avoid using

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480-412: Is reduced by the resinous waxy coating of the leaves, and by their small size, which prevents them from heating above air temperature (which would increase the vapor pressure deficit between the leaf and the air, thus increasing water loss). Plants drop some leaves heading into summer, but if all leaves are lost, the plant will not recover. Accumulation of fallen leaves, as well as other detritus caught from

520-533: The Rio Grande on the border between Coahuila and Texas south through Nuevo León , southwest Tamaulipas , San Luis Potosí , Querétaro , and Hidalgo to northern Puebla , where it joins with the east-west running Eje Volcánico Transversal of central Mexico. The northernmost are the Sierra del Burro and the Sierra del Carmen which reach the border with the United States at the Rio Grande. North of

560-615: The Rio Grande southeast of Laredo near the 99th meridian west . Larrea tridentata is an evergreen shrub growing to 1 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) tall, rarely 4 m (13 ft). The light gray stems of the plant bear resinous, dark green leaves with two opposite lanceolate leaflets joined at the base, with a deciduous awn between them, each leaflet 7 to 18 mm ( 1 ⁄ 4 to 11 ⁄ 16  in) long and 4 to 8.5 mm ( 5 ⁄ 32 to 11 ⁄ 32  in) broad. The flowers are up to 25 mm (1 in) in diameter, with five yellow petals. The fruit

600-799: The Sandia–Manzano Mountains , the Magdalena–San Mateo Mountains, and the Gila Region partly border the Chihuahuan Desert and partly border other ecoregions that are not deserts. There are few urban areas within the desert: the largest is Ciudad Juárez with almost two million inhabitants; Chihuahua , Saltillo , and Torreón ; and the US cities of El Paso and Albuquerque . Alamogordo , Alpine , Benson , Carlsbad , Carrizozo , Deming , Fort Stockton , Fort Sumner , Las Cruces , Marfa , Pecos , Roswell , and Willcox are among

640-492: The Sonoran Desert to the west, mostly varying from 480 to 1,800 m (1,575 to 5,906 ft) in elevation, the desert has a slightly milder climate in the summer (though usually daytime June temperatures are in the range of 32 to 40 °C or 90 to 104 °F), with mild to cool winters and occasional to frequent freezes. The hottest temperatures in the desert occur in lower elevation areas and valleys, including near

680-466: The Chihuahuan Desert is 235 mm (9.3 in) with a range of approximately 150–400 mm (6–16 in), although it receives more precipitation than most other warm desert ecoregions. Nearly two-thirds of the arid zone stations have annual totals between 225 and 275 mm (8.9 and 10.8 in). Snowfall is scant except at the higher elevation edges. Northern and eastern portions have more definite winters than southern and western portions, receiving

720-743: The Rio Grande from south of El Paso into the Big Bend, and the Bolson de Mapimi. A subtropical temperature regime describes lower elevations in the Texas Big Bend region up to the Presidio and Candelaria areas, then southward into similar elevations, while a warm temperate temperature regime describes higher elevations and further north. The average annual temperature in the desert varies from about 13 to 22 °C (55 to 72 °F), depending on elevation and latitude. The mean annual precipitation for

760-588: The Rio Grande, the range continues northwestward into Texas and beyond as the Davis and Guadalupe Ranges. Mexico's Gulf Coastal Plain lies to the east of the range, between the mountains and the Gulf of Mexico coast. The Mexican Plateau , which averages 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) in elevation, lies between the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre Occidental further west. The climate of

800-494: The Sierra Madre Oriental is drier than the rainforest areas further south. The Serranias del Burro in the northern range is much drier, semi-arid to arid, yet annually orographically induces and/or intensifies notably vigorous thunderstorm activity in April and May. This small region consistently is a particularly active area for supercells with significantly severe hail and tornadoes , which first form over to just leeward of

840-563: The US–Mexico border. Herbaceous plants , such as bush muhly ( Muhlenbergia porteri ), blue grama ( Bouteloua gracilis ), gypsum grama ( B. breviseta ), and hairy grama ( B. hirsuta ), are dominant in desert grasslands and near the mountain edges including the Sierra Madre Occidental. Lechuguilla ( Agave lechuguilla ), honey mesquite ( Prosopis glandulosa ), Opuntia macrocentra and Echinocereus pectinatus are

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880-635: The area by the United States Camel Corps , readily ate creosote bush. It is thought that this meeting reestablished a biological relationship that was broken when the American camels became extinct in the Quaternary Extinction Event , making it an evolutionary anachronism . As the creosote bush grows older, its oldest branches eventually die and its crown splits into separate crowns. This normally happens when

920-513: The central Mojave Desert near present-day Lucerne Valley, California . This single clonal colony plant of L. tridentata reaches up to 20 m (67 ft) in diameter, with an average diameter of 14 m (45 ft). King Clone was identified and its age estimated by Frank Vasek, a professor at the University of California, Riverside . Measurements of the plant, as well as radiocarbon dating of wood fragments, were used to determine

960-586: The dominant species in western Coahuila . Ocotillo ( Fouquieria splendens ), lechuguilla, and Yucca filifera are the most common species in the southeastern part of the desert. Candelilla ( Euphorbia antisyphilitica ), Mimosa zygophylla , Acacia glandulifera and lechuguilla are found in areas with well-draining, shallow soils. The shrubs found near the Sierra Madre Oriental are exclusively lechuguilla, guapilla ( Hechtia glomerata ), Queen Victoria's agave ( Agave victoriae-reginae ), sotol ( Dasylirion spp.), and barreta ( Helietta parvifolia ), while

1000-574: The dry north to the wetter south. The Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests are found at high elevations in the range (1,000–3,500 m or 3,300–11,500 ft above sea level). To the east, the Tamaulipan matorral occupies the range's lower slopes in Nuevo León and northern Tamaulipas, while the Veracruz moist forests cover the lower slopes of the central range, and the eastern slopes at

1040-1466: The ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona; Janos Biosphere Reserve , Médanos de Samalayuca Natural Protected Area and Cañón de Santa Elena Flora and Fauna Protection Area in Chihuahua; Cuatro Ciénegas Basin , Ocampo Flora and Fauna Protection Area , and part of Maderas del Carmen Biosphere Reserve in Coahuila; Mapimí Biosphere Reserve and Cañón de Fernández State Park in Durango; Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge , Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge , Carlsbad Caverns National Park , Carrizozo Malpais , Oliver Lee Memorial State Park , Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument , Petroglyph National Monument , Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge , and White Sands National Park in New Mexico; and Big Bend National Park , Big Bend Ranch State Park , Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, Franklin Mountains State Park , and part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas. Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental ( Spanish: [ˈsjera ˈmaðɾe oɾjenˈtal] )

1080-588: The growth of burro bush roots, but as of 2013, much of their relationship remains unexplained. Creosote bush stands tend to display an evenly spaced distribution of plants. Originally, it was assumed that the plant produced a water-soluble inhibitor that prevented the growth of other bushes near mature, healthy bushes. Now, however, it has been shown that the root systems of mature creosote plants are simply so efficient at absorbing water that fallen seeds nearby cannot accumulate enough water to germinate, effectively creating dead zones around every plant. Owing to

1120-459: The harshness of the germination environment above mature root systems, young creosote bushes are much more susceptible to drought stress than established plants. Germination is quite active during wet periods, but most of the young plants die very quickly unless water conditions are optimal. Ground heat compounds the young plants' susceptibility to water stress, and ground temperatures can reach upwards of 70 °C (160 °F). To become established,

1160-647: The late summer and smaller amounts of precipitation in early winter, the mean daily temperature of the coldest month warmer than 0 °C (32 °F). The majority of rain falls between late June and early October during the North American Monsoon when moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and the Sea of Cortez penetrates into the region, or much less frequently, when a tropical cyclone moves inland and stalls. Owing to its inland position and higher elevation than

1200-746: The migration route of monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus ). Original habitats have been severely reduced by clearance for livestock grazing and logging over hundreds of years. Protected areas include the Cumbres de Monterrey National Park in Mexico and the Big Bend National Park in Texas. The El Cielo Biosphere in Tamaulipas preserves the northernmost tropical Veracruz moist forests in Mexico and extensive temperate cloud forests . Larrea tridentata Larrea tridentata , called creosote bush and greasewood as

1240-484: The mountains then move eastward, sometimes hundreds of kilometres (miles) past the Rio Grande River into Texas. Cerro El Potosí , at 3,720 metres (12,200 ft) above sea level (ASL), is the highest point of the Sierra Madre Oriental and the state of Nuevo León This long range of tall mountains is noted for its abundant biodiversity and large number of endemic species of plants and wildlife, from

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1280-691: The other communities in this ecoregion. Safford and Benson in Arizona are located in low elevations of the western edges of the Chihuahuan Desert, but in an ecotone with the Sonoran Desert . According to the World Wide Fund for Nature the Chihuahuan Desert may be the most biologically diverse desert in the world as measured by species richness or endemism. The region has been badly degraded, mainly due to grazing. Many native grasses and other species have become dominated by woody native plants, including creosote bush and mesquite, due to overgrazing and other urbanization. The Mexican wolf , once abundant,

1320-505: The passing wind, creates an ecological community specific to the creosote bush canopy, including beetles , millipedes , pocket mice , and kangaroo rats . Native Americans in the Southwest held beliefs that it treated many maladies, including sexually transmitted diseases , tuberculosis , chicken pox , dysmenorrhea , and snakebite . The Coahuilla Indians used the plant for intestinal complaints and tuberculosis. The Pima drank

1360-424: The plant is 30 to 90 years old. Eventually, the old crown dies and the new ones become a clonal colony from the previous plant, composed of many separate stems all from the same seed. The cloned individuals sometimes form a "ring" around the original plant, which may no longer be visible. The "King Clone" creosote ring is one of the oldest living organisms on Earth . It has been alive an estimated 11,700 years, in

1400-694: The plant's mean annual growth rate outward from the center of the ring. By measuring the diameter of the ring, its total age could be estimated. It is within the Creosote Rings Preserve of the Lucerne Valley and Johnson Valley. Creosote bush is most common on the well-drained soils of alluvial fans and flats. In parts of its range, it may cover large areas in practically pure stands, though it usually occurs in association with Ambrosia dumosa (burro bush or bur-sage). Chemicals found in creosote bush roots have been shown to inhibit

1440-410: The practical average floor is around −70 bars, where the plant's need for cellular respiration generally exceeds the level that the water-requiring process of photosynthesis can provide. Cell division can occur during these times of water stress, and new cells commonly quickly absorb water after rainfall. This rapid uptake causes branches to grow several centimeters at the end of a wet season. Water loss

1480-947: The southern end of the range are home to the Veracruz montane forests . West of the range, the Mexican Plateau is home to deserts and xeric shrublands , including the Chihuahuan Desert to the north, the Meseta Central matorral on the central part of the plateau, and the Central Mexican matorral on the southern plateau. Much of the wildlife can also be found in the Sierra Madre Occidental , which runs parallel to these mountains along western Mexico. Pine-oak forests are dominated by several species of pine , such as Pinus nelsonii , P. cembroides , P. pseudostrobus , and P. arizonica , and oak, such as Quercus castanea and Q. affinis . Matorral

1520-399: The well-developed herbaceous layer includes grasses, legumes , and cacti. Desert or arid grasslands comprise 20% of this desert and are often mosaics of shrubs and grasses. They include purple three-awn ( Aristida purpurea ), black grama ( Bouteloua eriopoda ), and sideoats grama ( Bouteloua curtipendula ). Early Spanish explorers reported encountering grasses that were "belly high to

1560-437: The young plant apparently must experience three to five years of abnormally cool and moist weather during and after germination. From this, it can be inferred that all the plants inside a stand are of equal age. Mature plants, however, can tolerate extreme drought stress. In terms of negative water potential , creosote bushes can operate fully at −50 bars of water potential and have been found living down to −120 bars, although

1600-562: Was nearly extinct and remains on the endangered species list. The desert is mainly a rain shadow desert because the two main mountain ranges which bound the desert, the Sierra Madre Occidental to the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental to the east, block most moisture from the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, respectively. Climatically, the desert mostly has an arid, mesothermal climate with one rainy season in

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