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Where is the Colorado Desert located within the Sonoran Desert?
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North American Desert
Physical features of western North America.
The Colorado Desert is a subdivision of the Sonoran Desert located in its northwestern portion. It extends southeastward for 164 miles (264 km) from the San Gorgonio Pass in southeastern California to the Colorado River delta in northern Mexico.12
This low-lying region is bounded by the Pacific coastal ranges to the west, the San Bernardino, Cottonwood, Chuckawalla, and Chocolate mountains and the Colorado River to the north and east, and the head of the Gulf of California to the south. It is geographically distinct from the neighboring Yuma Desert, which lies further to the east in Arizona and northwestern Sonora.2