View source for Low Desert

{{Short description|Term for low-lying deserts in California, US}}

[[File:Gateway to the Springs.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Gateway to [[Palm Springs, California]] as seen from above [[California State Route 62]] in the [[Sonoran Desert]], [[California]]]]
The '''Low Desert''' (colloquially referred to as '''the Desert''' within the region) is a common name for any [[desert]] in [[California]] that is under 2,000 feet (609.6 m) in altitude. These areas include, but are not exclusive to, the [[Colorado Desert]] and [[Yuha Desert]] branches of the [[Sonoran Desert]], in the far southeasternmost portion of [[Southern California]]. The Low Desert is distinguished in [[biogeography]] from the adjacent northern [[High Desert (California)|High Desert]] or [[Mojave Desert]] by latitude, elevation, animal life, climate, and [[native plant|native]] [[plant community|plant communities]].<ref>[http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/deserts.html Deserts at California Natural Resources Agency web site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504212746/http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/deserts.html |date=2013-05-04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=California Deserts 101: High Desert vs Low Desert |url=https://sand-boarding.com/high-desert-vs-low-desert/ |website=Sand-boarding.com |access-date=12 June 2023}}</ref>

==Communities==
The cities and towns in the Low Desert include:
{{colbegin}}
*[[Coachella Valley]] area
**[[Bermuda Dunes, California|Bermuda Dunes]]
**[[Cathedral City, California|Cathedral City]]
**[[Coachella, California|Coachella]]
**[[Desert Hot Springs, California|Desert Hot Springs]]
**[[Indian Wells, California|Indian Wells]]
**[[Indio, California|Indio]]
**[[La Quinta, California|La Quinta]]
**[[Mecca, California|Mecca]]
**[[Palm Desert, California|Palm Desert]]
**[[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]]
**[[Rancho Mirage, California|Rancho Mirage]]
**[[Thermal, California|Thermal]]
**[[Thousand Palms, California|Thousand Palms]]
*[[Imperial Valley]] area
**[[Brawley, California|Brawley]]
**[[Calexico, California|Calexico]]
**[[Calipatria, California|Calipatria]]
**[[El Centro, California|El Centro]]
**[[Holtville, California|Holtville]]
**[[Imperial, California|Imperial]]
**[[Niland, California|Niland]]
**[[Westmorland, California|Westmorland]]
*[[Lower Colorado River Valley]] area
**[[Blythe, California|Blythe]]
**[[Palo Verde, California|Palo Verde]]
**[[Winterhaven, California|Winterhaven]]
*[[Salton Sea]] area
**[[Bombay Beach]]
**[[North Shore, California|North Shore]]
**[[Salton City, California|Salton City]]
*[[Borrego Springs, California|Borrego Springs]]
*[[Ocotillo Wells, California|Ocotillo Wells]]
{{colend}}

==Parks and Protected Areas==
*[[Anza-Borrego Desert State Park]]
*[[Coachella Valley Preserve]]
*[[Joshua Tree National Park]] – Southern portion of the Park is included in the Low Desert, the northern portion is within the [[Mojave Desert]]
*[[Salton Sea State Recreation Area]]
*[[Indio Hills Palms|Indio Hills Palms Park]]
*[[Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument]]
*[[Big Morongo Canyon Preserve]]

===Wildlife refuges and wilderness areas===

*[[Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge]]
*[[Imperial National Wildlife Refuge]]
*[[Havasu National Wildlife Refuge]]
*[[Cibola National Wildlife Refuge]]
*[[Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge]]
*[[Fish Creek Mountains Wilderness]]
*[[Santa Rosa Wilderness]]
*[[Indian Pass Wilderness]]
*[[Whipple Mountains Wilderness]]
*[[Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness]]
*[[Little Picacho Wilderness]]

==See also==
*[[:Category:Populated places in the Colorado Desert]]
*[[:Category:Protected areas of the Colorado Desert]]
*[[:Category:Wilderness areas within the Lower Colorado River Valley]]
*[[:Category:Flora of the California desert regions]]
*[[:Category:Mountain ranges of the Colorado Desert]]

==References==
{{Wikivoyage|California Desert}}
{{Reflist}}

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{{Colorado Desert Region}}
{{Inland Empire}}
{{Greater Los Angeles Area}}
{{Deserts}}

[[Category:Deserts of California]]
[[Category:Colorado Desert| •]]
[[Category:Regions of California]]
[[Category:Deserts of the Lower Colorado River Valley]]
[[Category:Geography of San Bernardino County, California|.]]
[[Category:Geography of Riverside County, California|.]]
[[Category:Geography of Imperial County, California|.]]
[[Category:Geography of San Diego County, California|.]]
[[Category:Geography of Southern California]]
[[Category:Inland Empire]]
[[Category:Southern California|Desert]]
[[Category:Coachella Valley]]
[[Category:Imperial Valley]]
[[Category:Blythe, California]]
[[Category:Indio, California]]
[[Category:Palm Springs, California]]


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