
Ecoregions: Arizona/New Mexico Mountains, Arizona/New Mexico Plateau, Chihuahuan Deserts, Colorado Plateau, Madrean Archipelago, Southern Rockies, Southwestern Tablelands, Western High Plains
Colorado Plateau
Rugged tableland topography is typical of the Colorado Plateaus ecoregion. Canyons, mesas, plateaus, and mountains expose a long geologic history of rock formations. Precipitous side-walls mark abrupt changes in local relief, often of 1000 to 2000 feet or more. The region contains more piñon-juniper and Gambel oak woodlands than the Wyoming Basin to the north. However, the region also has large low-lying areas containing saltbush-greasewood communities, and in Utah, blackbrush communities typical of hotter, drier areas. These communities are generally not found in the higher Arizona/New Mexico Plateau to the south where grasslands were typically more common.
Flora:
The arid Shale Deserts and Sedimentary Basins: Mat saltbush, fourwing saltbush, greasewood, shadscale, alkali sacaton, galleta grass, poverty threeawn, sand dropseed, Indian ricegrass and some piñon-juniper woodland.
The Semiarid Benchlands and Canyonlands: Gambel oak, sagebrush, fourwing saltbush, winterfat, Mormon tea, shadscale, saltbush, some sand sagebrush, galleta grass and Indian ricegrass.
New Mexico Business Links
Find
businesses offering goods & services to the traveling public
Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail
New Mexico Videos
Visit
our video library featuring scenes from "The Land of Enchantment"
New Mexico Media
News & Press
Releases
Photo Archive
Travel
Research
Jen's Blog
Homepage Feature Archive
Request
Request the 2009
Vacation Guide
View
the 2009 Vacation Guide online
Sign up for our Monthly
E-Newsletter
Regions & Cities
Click on map to go to Region




New
Mexico Apparel