The desert contains a variety of unique endemic plants and animals, notably, the saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) and organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi).

Within the southern Sonoran Desert in Mexico is found the Gran Desierto de Altar, with the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, encompassing 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi) of desert and mountainous regions.

[8] In the lower-elevation portions of the desert, temperatures are warm year-round, and rainfall is infrequent and irregular, often less than 90 mm (approx.

Mission Garden is a living agricultural museum that showcases foods that have been grown in the Sonoran Desert for over 4000 years.

Cacti provide food and homes to many desert mammals and birds, with showy flowers in reds, pinks, yellows, and whites, blooming most commonly from late March through June, depending on the species and seasonal temperatures.

Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and bur sage (Ambrosia dumosa) dominate valley floors.

[12] The Sonoran Desert is home to a wide variety of fauna that have adapted and thrive in the hot, arid desert environment, such as the Gila monster, bobcat, mule deer, antelope jackrabbit, burrowing owl, greater roadrunner, western diamondback rattlesnake, and elf owl.

[13] The Sonoran Desert area southeast of Tucson and near the Mexican border is vital habitat for the only population of jaguars living within the United States.

One such insect species that has evolved a means to thrive in this environment is Drosophila mettleri, a Sonoran Desert fly.

This fly contains a specialized P450 detoxification system that enables it to nest in the cool region of exudate moistened soil.

In 2007 in the Phoenix area, desert was losing ground to urban sprawl at a rate of approximately 4,000 square meters (1 acre) per hour.

Other cities include Borrego Springs, Indio, Coachella, Calexico, El Centro, Imperial, and Blythe.

The harsh climate conditions and border militarism mean that the journey can be perilous, usually moving at night to minimize exposure to the heat.

[19] There are many National Parks and Monuments; federal and state nature reserves and wildlife refuges; state, county, and city parks; and government or nonprofit group operated natural history museums, science research institutes, and botanical gardens and desert landscape gardens.