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San Juan/Chaco Tablelands and Mesas

Ecoregion on Colorado Plateau in NM, AZ

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The San Juan/Chaco Tablelands and Mesas ecoregion of plateaus, valleys, and canyons contains a mix of desert scrub, semi-desert shrub-steppe, and semi-desert grasslands. Shadscale, fourwing saltbush, Mormon tea, Indian ricegrass, galleta, and blue and black gramas are typical. It is more arid, has lower elevations, and less pinyon-juniper than Ecoregion 22j to the south. Gently dipping Tertiary and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks are typical, although Jurassic and Triassic sandstones occur in the Arizona portion that includes Redrock Valley and some small mesas and valleys that drain to the San Juan River in New Mexico. The region is mostly Navajo tribal land. Land uses include some low-density livestock grazing of cattle, sheep, goats, and horses. In New Mexico, some irrigated agriculture occurs near the San Juan River, and oil and gas production is active in the northern part of the region.

— EPA

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