The Borrego Desert

Definition and Floristic Classification of the Borrego Desert

Tom has been working on the Flora of this area beginning in the 2002-2003 season, joined by Mike Crouse from December 2008 to March 2013; Kate Harper from March 2011 to April 2019; Adrienne Ballwey from February 2013 to March 2015; Nancy Accola from December 2014 to the present; and Don Rideout from January 2017 to the present. Many people have joined us on a number of our surveys, including Wayne Armstrong, James Dillane, Keir Morse, and Jim Roberts.

Carla Hoegen and Fred Melgert began independently working on the Flora of this area in January 2015, and have contributed greatly to the Flora in many ways.

We are now getting close to having a decent flora of at least part of the area, which is being put online as we go. This site will concentrate mostly on the Flora of the Borrego Desert. However, it will also include other items of interest here, such as climate, rainfall, geology and specific places. Until all Borrego Desert species have pages done just for this area, this page also contains links to pages discussing Borrego Desert Species from Tom's Plants of southern California site.

Bloom Reports

List of All bloom reports

Working Draft for the Flora

The Nifty Fifty: The 51 Most Common Species of the Borrego Desert

The 172 Most Common Species of the Borrego Desert

Species ranked by their maximum number of plants per mile

Preliminary floras for parts of the Borrego Desert are available as Floras and Plant Trail Guides.

Voucher Collection Dates

Preliminary Analysis of the Flora

Preliminary Analysis of Elevations of the Species in the Flora

Rarest Species in the Flora

Species That Skip the Borrego Desert

Field Guide to Plant Species

Plant Species of the Borrego Desert

Also see these pages from the Plants of southern California site:

Botanical Trip Reports

These reports are among all my San Diego County reports; search for Borrego in each page to find the Borrego Desert Reports.

2009 Reports
2008 Reports
2007 Reports
(No reports in 2006)
2005 Reports
2004 Reports

Places in the Borrego Desert, including Maps and Views

Formation of Butler Canyon, Jackass Flat, and Lower Rockhouse Canyon

Clark Valley

Historical Confusion about Blair Valley, Pinyon Mountain and Whale Peak (and Hellhole Canyon, Culp Canyon, Tubb Canyon and Salvador Canyon)

Views of Henderson Canyon

View from the crest of the Mason Valley Truck Trail, mile 1.3 from SR79, 4800 feet: View to the north (single photo from Don Rideout); View to the northeast (pano from two photos from Don Rideout)

View From the Montezuma Grade of S22 (Culp Valley, Santa Rosa Mountains, Fonts Point, Borrego Sink, Chocolate Mountains, Borrego Mountain, Algodones Dunes, Salton Sea, Picacho Peak, Cargo Muchacho Mountains)

View From Bank of Upper Palm Wash (Superstition Hills, Superstition Mountain, Sierra Cucapa Mountains, Mt. Signal, Fish Creek Mountains)

View From S22 Overlook of the Northernmost Fork of the Arroyo Salado in 2005, when it actually rained in the desert proper all season.

Views of the Santa Rosa Mountains

Road Timeline in the Borrego Desert Area

Weather

Rainfall in the Borrego Desert Area

Site information

Update Log

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Copyright © 2008-2021 by Tom Chester.
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http://tchester.org/bd/index.html
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Updated 23 October 2021.