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Little Colorado Valley/Painted Desert

Ecoregion on Colorado Plateau, AZ

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The Little Colorado Valley/Painted Desert ecoregion is lower, drier, and warmer than surrounding regions and has more desert scrub. Elevations are typically below 5000 feet, ranging from 4200 to 5700 feet. Precipitation is only 5 to 9 inches annually. Some sodic and saline soils occur or have gypsic horizons. A mix of shale badlands, greasewood flats, sand shrubland, and semi-desert grassland occurs in the region. Vegetation includes mound saltbush, fourwing saltbush, shadscale, Mormon tea, yucca, alkali sacaton, galleta, black grama, Indian ricegrass, and gyp dropseed. A long history of overgrazing has resulted in extensive rangeland deterioration.

— EPA

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