Sonoran Desert
2
5.9
- proper noun
- /səˈnɔːrən ˈdɛzərt/
:
Desierto de Sonora
- Saguaro cacti are unique to the Sonoran Desert, thriving in its arid climate.
Examples
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Behind them lies typical Sonoran Desert thorn scrub, with a tall saguaro cactus in the distance.
Academic text (2007) -
So it goes in the Sonoran Desert.
Blog text (14) -
In 2006, people were walking for three days through the Sonoran Desert.
Academic text (2011) -
So migrants began crossing instead through the Sonoran Desert.
Academic text (2011) -
Here, saguaro cacti, native to the Sonoran Desert, are found in abundance.
Academic text (1996) -
We had been bouncing down an extremely rough dirt road in the Sonoran Desert south of Tucson when he pulled off to the side.
Academic text (2011) -
Nestled in Tucson Mountain Park, the Desert Museum exhibits the living outdoor world of nature found in the Sonoran Desert region.
Academic text (1996) -
Almost two miles of paths traversed landscapes containing over 1,300 plants indigenous to the Sonoran Desert region.
Academic text (2007) -
You can observe reptiles and invertebrates of the Sonoran Desert, along with mountain lions, Mexican wolves, and black bears in the mountain habitat.
Academic text (1996) -
As the sun slowly sets over the Sonoran Desert, bathing the Sheraton and the Pusch mountain range in a reddish glow, our Fun Night festivities will begin at the "Last Territory," a unique area on the grounds of the Sheraton El Conquistador.
Academic text (1996)
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward place-name formed by the adjective 'Sonoran' (pertaining to Sonora) plus the noun 'desert', so the meaning — the desert in the Sonora region — is directly derivable from the constituents. Place-name compounding of region adjective + geographic noun is cross-linguistically common, making it immediately comprehensible to a learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Sonoran Desert comes from the Mexican state Sonora and the word desert, meaning 'dry land'. One popular story says early settlers used the place name for the wide, hot area nearby, so today the name points to that hot, dry region in parts of Mexico and the United States.