The Chihuahuan Desert

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The Chihuahuan Desert

• A Katherine Gray Kunze Production
• May 19, 2005

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The Chihuahuan Desert

• The Chihuahuan Desert starts in Mexico around San
  Luis Potosi and goes north into the US between
  two mountain ranges. It reaches across west
  Texas, New Mexico, and southeastern Arizona.
• Runoff in the northern half flows to the Rio
  Grande then to the Gulf of Mexico. Playas are
  lakes left over from the Ice Ages and other water
  runoff collects in them. There are Salt Flats to
  the west of the Guadalupe Mountains in west
  Texas.
• The Climate is cold at night (60ºF) and very hot
  (100ºF) in the day.
• Some animals found are Gila monsters, foxes,
  bats, hawks, desert toads, and rattlesnakes.
• Some plants found there are the prickly pears,
  yuccas, honey mesquites, grama grasses, creosote
  bushes, and barrel cacti.
• The Chihuahuan Desert is the largest in the North
  America and covers the same area as does the
  country of Spain (about 200,000 sq. miles).

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The Desert Food Chain

• The bumblebee eats nectar from the flower on a
  cactus.
• A lizard then eats the bumblebee.
• A hawk then eats the lizard.

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The Life Cycle of a Rattlesnake

• The rattlesnake lays eggs.
• The eggs hatch and the baby snakes are already
  poisonous.
• They grow and then shed their old skins.
• They eat mice, lizards, rabbits, and squirrels.
• Hawks can eat rattlesnakes.

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Picture of the Chihuahuan Desert
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Thanks to. . .

• My Dad for typing this and helping me with
  PowerPoint.
• http//www.desertusa.com for the pictures and
  Bibliographical information.