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Low Mountains and Bajadas

Ecoregion in Chihuahuan Desert in AZ, NM, TX

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The Low Mountains and Bajadas ecoregion includes disjunct hilly areas scattered across West Texas, southern New Mexico, and eastern Arizona that have a variety of geological settings. The mountainous terrain has shallow soil, exposed bedrock, and coarse, rocky substrates. Alluvial fans of rubble, sand, and gravel build at the base of the mountains and often coalesce to form bajadas. Vegetation includes mostly desert shrubs, such as sotol, lechuguilla, yucca, ocotillo, lotebush, tarbush, and pricklypear, with a sparse intervening cover of black grama and other grasses. At higher elevations, there may be scattered one-seeded juniper and pinyon pine. Strips of gray oak, velvet ash, and little walnut outline the patterns of intermittent and ephemeral drainages, and oaks may spread up north-facing slopes from the riparian zones. The varied habitats provide cover for mule deer, bobcat, collared peccary, and Montezuma quail.

— EPA

Plants

Creosote Bush Larrea tridentata (species), “Creosote”, “Chaparral”

Low Mountains and Bajadas

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