North American Warm Desert Pavement

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Nature Serve ID: CES302.750

Geology

Often Quaternary alluvium and colluvium.

Landform

Level to gently rolling surfaces.

Soils

Gravelly sites.

Parent Description

Unvegetated to very sparsely vegetated sites on level to gently rolling, gravelly landscapes. These sites are often characterized by harsh, high temperature conditions often leading to the development of gravels coated with "desert varnish." This system may occur on alluvial flats or the level portions of bajada fans at low elevations. Larrea tridentata (creosotebush) often occurs as widely scattered shrubs.

Ecological Mapping Systems