Sonoran Desert II
by Robert Bales
Title
Sonoran Desert II
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
The Sonoran Desert is an arid region covering 120,000 square miles in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California, as well as most of Baja California and the western half of the state of Sonora, Mexico. Subdivisions of this hot, dry region include the Colorado and Yuma deserts. Irrigation has produced many fertile agricultural areas, including the Coachella and Imperial valleys of California. Warm winters attract tourists to Sonora Desert resorts in Palm Springs, California, and Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona.
This is the hottest of our North American deserts, but a distinctly bimodal rainfall pattern produces a high biological diversity. Winter storms from the Pacific nourish many West Coast annuals such as poppies and lupines, while well-developed summer monsoons host both annuals and woody plants originating from the south. Freezing conditions can be expected for a few nights in winter.
Trees are usually well developed on the desert ranges and their bajadas. Often abundant on these well-drained soils are Little-leaf Palo Verdes, Desert Ironwoods, Catclaw and Saguaro.
The understory consists of three, four or even five layers of smaller woody shrubs. Tall chollas may occur in an almost bewildering array of species. The alluvial lowlands host communities of Desert Saltbush, wolfberry and bursage. On coarser soils, Creosote Bush and bursage communities may stretch for miles. Where the water table is high, Honey or Velvet Mesquite may form dense bosques or woodlands.
The Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range (formerly Luke Air Force Range) is a bombing range in the U.S. state of Arizona that runs along the Mexican border.
It is primarily used for air-to-ground bombing practice by United States Air Force pilots flying A-10s from Davis-Monthan AFB, F-16s from Luke AFB and Tucson Air National Guard Base, and Marine Corps pilots in F/A-18s and AV-8B Harriers from MCAS Yuma.
The entire range is approved for day and night operations. Four controlled, manned, and electronically scored surface attack ranges are available for pilots to practice basic air-to-surface weapons deployment, including bombing, rocket delivery, and strafe. Additionally, three expansive, uncontrolled tactical ranges are available. Each of these tactical ranges spans several hundred square kilometers, and each contains two airfield mockups plus many diverse arrays of targets, including structures, vehicle convoys, aircraft, and armor. These ranges are used to train pilots for strike and close air support missions, and support various types of live ordnance. Furthermore, JTACs from various services and countries frequently train on the same ranges and direct the air attacks. An air-to-air gunnery range is also available.
Near the center of the range complex, Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field (near Gila Bend, Arizona) serves as an emergency landing strip for pilots training on the ranges.
The Air Force operates the eastern portion of the BMGR (south of Interstate 8) while the Marine Corps operates the western portion.
Uploaded
March 26th, 2013
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