Most of the ecoregion is in endorheic basins, where streams drain into saline lakes with no outlet to the sea, including the Llanos el Salado and Bolsón de Mapimí.

Other common species are the shrubs huisache (Acacia farnesiana), sangre de drago (Jatropha dioica), desert mimosa (Mimosa turneri), and mesquite (Prosopis juliflora), the cacti Opuntia engelmannii, Echinocactus horizonthalonius, and Echinocereus conglomeratus, and the grasses Bouteloua gracilis and hairy woollygrass (Erioneuron pilosum).

In the northern part of the ecoregion near the transition to the Chihuahuan desert, the dominant plant community is creosote bush and hojasén (Flourensia cernua).

[2] Native mammals include coyote (Canis latrans), desert mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus eremicus), Mexican prairie dog (Cynomys mexicanus), yellow-faced pocket gopher (Orthogeomys spp.

Native birds include the greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos canadensis), great horned owl (Bubo virginiana), spotted owl (Strix occidentalis), red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), scaled quail (Callipepla squamata), and Worthen's sparrow (Spizella wortheni).