US States With Desert Areas: 11 States Share Arid Landscapes

Deserts in the United States span 11 states, primarily in the Southwest and Basin and Range provinces. The four major North American deserts (Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Great Basin) cross state lines.

States With Desert Territory

1. Arizona — Sonoran (south), Mojave (northwest), Chihuahuan (southeast). Most diverse.
2. California — Mojave (Death Valley, Joshua Tree), Colorado Desert (Sonoran subset), Great Basin (east Sierra).
3. Nevada — Great Basin (most of state), Mojave (south). Driest state.
4. Utah — Great Basin (west), Mojave (southwest), Colorado Plateau (southeast — cold desert).
5. New Mexico — Chihuahuan (south), Great Basin (northwest).
6. Texas — Chihuahuan (Trans-Pecos, west). Big Bend.
7. Oregon — High Desert (Great Basin) in southeast (Alvord, Owyhee).
8. Idaho — Great Basin (southwest: Owyhee, Bruneau).
9. Wyoming — Red Desert (Great Basin) in south (Killpecker Dunes, Adobe Town).
10. Colorado — Cold desert (San Luis Valley, Gunnison Basin) — high elevation, sagebrush.
11. Washington — Rain shadow desert (Columbia Basin, east Cascades) — shrub-steppe.

Desert Types Represented

• Hot deserts: Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan (AZ, CA, NV, NM, TX)
• Cold deserts: Great Basin (NV, UT, ID, OR, WY, CO)
• Rain-shadow deserts: Columbia Basin (WA), San Luis Valley (CO)

Notable Desert Parks

• Death Valley NP (CA/NV) — hottest, lowest, driest
• Joshua Tree NP (CA) — Mojave/Colorado transition
• Saguaro NP (AZ) — Sonoran icon
• Great Basin NP (NV) — bristlecones, Lehman Caves
• Big Bend NP (TX) — Chihuahuan wilderness

Desert America is vast, varied, and closer than you think—extending from the Mexican border to the Canadian border in the Basin and Range.