Environmental Engineering Reference
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110
100
Phoenix, AZ
Tu cson, AZ
Las Vegas, NV
Barstow, CA
Jornado, NM
Austin, NV
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
FIGURE 3.3
Mean monthly maximum temperature for selected stations in the four main southwestern U.S. desert regions:
Austin and Las Vegas, Nevada (Great Basin); Barstow, California (Mojave); Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona
(Sonoran); and the Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico (Chihuahuan).
90
80
Phoenix, AZ
Tu cson, AZ
Las Vegas, NV
Barstow, CA
Jornado, NM
Austin, NV
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
FIGURE 3.4
Mean monthly minimum temperature for selected stations in the four main southwestern U.S. desert regions:
Austin and Las Vegas, Nevada (Great Basin); Barstow, California (Mojave); Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona
(Sonoran); and the Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico (Chihuahuan).
The Great Basin is sagebrush country, with pinyon and juniper woodlands higher up and
mountaintops getting double the lowland precipitation.
The Sonoran area, mostly in Arizona and extending into Mexico along both sides of
the Gulf of California, is biologically diverse and experiences the summer monsoon and
also receives substantial winter moisture, especially at higher elevations. A distinctive
vegetation form is, of course, the saguaro cactus (
Carnegiea gigantea
). Intervening
mountain regions host sky islands of rich biological diversity. Phoenix (elevation 1110
ft, latitude 33°26′N, longitude 112°2′W) and Tucson (elevation 2420 ft, latitude 32°14′N,
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