The Sonoran desert in Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico is the only desert in the world with two rainy seasons.
All other deserts have one rainy season. Their rainy season is in either the winter or the summer.
For example, our neighbor to the east, the Chihuahuan desert, in Texas and Chihuahua, Mexico has a summer rainy season with violent downpours coming out of the Gulf of Mexico.
Our neighbor to the west, the Mojave desert, in California has a winter rainy season with gentle rains coming off of the Pacific.
The Sonoran desert gets some rain from both of those storm systems. That is why we are unique.
The Sonoran desert, although it has only about 7 inches of rain, has very “lush” vegetation for a desert with only 7 inches of rain because of the split rainy seasons.
A normal desert with only one rainy season and only 7 inches of rain would have far less vegetation because of the dry season that might be 8 or 9 months long. Few plants can survive such a long dry season.
In the Sonoran desert, however, the dry seasons are half that long so many more plants can survive until the next rainy season even though we only have 7 inches of rain.
Any other desert in the world with only 7 inches of rain would look very bleak indeed to us Arizonans.
Okay, as you might be able to notice, I have a degree in agriculture with a special interest in desert agriculture.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Brian McMorris 12.02.07 at 8:23 am
John,
Tell me that you didn’t go to this….please!! What is going on?…some of these “realtors” need to go back to their day jobs….
“The East Valley Tribune reports from Arizona. “Hundreds of Valley real estate agents rallied in Scottsdale on Friday in hopes of kick-starting the sluggish real estate market by thinking positive and being proactive. During the boom, real estate agents could sit and wait for buyers and sellers to come to them, said Rosey Koberlein, CEO of Tucson-based The Long Companies.”
John Wake - Real Estate 12.02.07 at 10:14 am
Yeah, and then I went up to a vortex in Sedona and chanted for a harmonic convergence of global awakening to love and unity.
Peter Fork 12.04.07 at 11:13 am
Next week on this blog: “How a vortex can help you sell your house”, and “Read ‘The Secret’ and flip those houses”.
Peter Fork 12.04.07 at 11:40 am
Very interesting post by the way. I am always surprised to see so many plants and trees in the region when I come. This, the exceptional weather, the beautiful sunsets, and the mountains make Phoenix a very pretty place. No wonder so many people came here.
Brian McMorris 12.04.07 at 8:32 pm
Okay, I will bite and quit being so cynical. John, is this rain anomaly (I lived in Scottsdale for six years and never new about this little factoid) the reason for saguaro cactus? I can’t think of any other place I have ever seen one (though I have hardly been to every desert on the planet).
John Wake - Real Estate 12.04.07 at 9:30 pm
Yes, the split rainfall is a big reason why the Sonoran desert flora is so unique. Saguaros can’t survive in the nearby Chihuahuan and Mohave deserts.