The Great Sonora Desert encompasses a large and diverse subtropical region extending from the west coast of Baja California to the western flank of Mexico's Sierra Madre Mountains. Within this vast expanse, the area surrounding San Felipe (an area of transition between the Lower Colorado River Section and the Vizcaino Desert Section) was determined to be sufficiently unique to enable its identification as The San Felipe Desert.
San Felipe Cactus
ECOSYTEM
Many mountain ranges lie within the San Felipe Desert. The most prominent of which is the Sierra San Pedro Martír. This range, which is the tallest in Baja forms the western boundary of our desert. The terrain varies from relatively flat sandy brush land to incredibly rugged almost impassable canyons. With some areas receiving as little as 3 cm of annual rain, many unique plants have chosen to call this area home. The most impressive has to be the Cardon cactus. These are the largest cactus in the world and the San Felipe Desert is the northern most extent of their range. While many of these plants have spines or smell and taste bad they also have brightly hued blossoms that attract lots of birds. Birds are not the only animals that live here either. There are lots of bugs, insects, and reptiles as would be expected. But there are also coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, mountain sheep, and vicious cholla chomping jackrabbits. While deserts tend to appear as rather bleak places, they are an ecosystem literally full of diverse life forms. Even the dry sandy earth forms an alliance with algae and lichens to create what we know as a cryptogramic soil. The San Felipe Desert is a highly varied and very unique ecosystem. It only takes a short time to fall in love with it. You can spend a lifetime discovering it.