Notes from the Road Travelogue
  • Pinacate Desert

    Sierra del Pinacate Range

    It is North America's last frontier, a barren, hundred-mile stretch of blackness and inhospitability. It is The Pinacate, named after its primary inhabitant; a rather insignificant beetle which stands on its head and lets out a rather putrid odor...
  • Baja Norte

    Desert Roads of Baja California Norte

    Under our feet was a giant hole in the earth. The sea had cut an underground cave and settled here: a stretch of beach underneath the earth. Four seals were in the water. One had no head. Sharks.
  • Baja Sur

    Bahia Coyote and Baja California Sur

    Notes on an overland trek From Los Angeles to Mulegé in the Baja Peninsula's southern state.
  • Baja Sur

    San Jose del Cabo Estuary

    Notes on three mornings exploring the wildlife wonderland of Baja's freshwater oasis.
  • Hot Sauces of the World

    Hot Sauces of the World

    My guide to the hot sauces of the world. Hot sauce, originally invented in Mexico, are now part of global cuisine, with as many types as there are cultures.
  • Isla Espiritu Santo

    Isla Espiritu Santo Journal

    I am on a skiff flying through the Sea of Cortez from the capital of Baja Sur, La Paz. Destination is Isla Espiritu Santo.

Map of Mexican Deserts

Mexico is home to two vast desert regions, both contiguous with the United States. The map of desert regions below shows how the two deserts cover five states.

Map of the Mexican Desert Regions

There are two primary desert regions in Northern Mexico. The states of Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur, the islands of the Sea of Cortez, and most of the state of Sonora comprise the Mexican portion of the Sonoran desert. The U.S. portion of the desert covers the Southeastern tip of California, and Arizona's southwestern quarter.