Sonoran Desert Map
The Sonoran Desert is a desert across the United States and Mexico, covering about 311,000 km² (120,000 sq mi). This map shows its extent on shaded relief, with the surrounding mountains, rivers, borders and cities.
How to read this map
The Sonoran Desert is about 311,000 km² (120,000 sq mi) in area. It extends across the United States and Mexico.
The dashed outline marks the Sonoran Desert as mapped by Natural Earth. Towns and cities on the map include Los Angeles, Phoenix, Irvine, San Diego, Long Beach, Las Vegas, San Bernardino and Tijuana. Labeled states and countries: Arizona.
Greens show lower elevations; tan and brown show higher land, with pale tones toward the highest terrain. Shadows emphasize the slopes, and vertical relief is exaggerated so landforms are easier to read. Dashed lines show country borders, and fine dashed lines show state or province borders.
The relief uses Terrain Tiles (SRTM, GMTED2010 and ETOPO1 elevation data). Rivers, lakes, borders and the outline of the Sonoran Desert come from Natural Earth, and the figures on this page from Wikidata. Natural Earth draws features at a small scale, so the outline is a guide to where the Sonoran Desert is, not a surveyed boundary.
Blank physical map
The blank version keeps the mapped features and removes the place labels. Download it for a geography worksheet or practice identifying the features.
Sonoran Desert facts
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Area | 311,000 km² (120,000 sq mi) |
| Countries | the United States and Mexico |
| US states | Arizona and California |
Data sources and license
- Natural Earth (public-domain geography): Public domain.
- Terrain Tiles / Mapzen (SRTM, GMTED2010, ETOPO1): Open elevation data; source attribution retained.
- Wikidata (lengths, areas, countries and other facts): CC0 1.0.
Map design and rendered images: Atlas of Maps, CC BY 4.0. Source databases retain their own licenses; the map license does not replace them.
Maps of the countries: United States, Mexico. Compare with the world mountain ranges map.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Sonoran Desert?
About 311,000 km² (120,000 sq mi).
Where is the Sonoran Desert?
The Sonoran Desert is in the United States and Mexico.
Can I download a blank map of the Sonoran Desert?
Yes. The blank version keeps the relief, rivers and borders and the highlighted desert but removes the place names. Both versions are free to download as PNG and as an A4 PDF.
Use this map
You can download, print and share this map for free, in class, in school projects, in presentations and on websites, as long as you credit the source: Sonoran Desert Map · Atlas of Maps (atlasofmaps.com), license CC BY 4.0.
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