Colorado Desert & Salton Trough
Below sea level, below three inches of rain, and the one part of California with a real monsoon.
The low desert — the northwest end of the Sonoran, floored by the Salton Trough, which is a continuation of the Gulf of California rift and sits 236 feet below sea level at the Salton Sea. It is the hottest summer climate in the state after Death Valley and the driest, and it is the one region where the North American Monsoon genuinely delivers: from July, moisture pushes north out of the Gulf and produces thunderstorms, dust storms and flash floods on ground that takes under three inches of rain a year.
- Elevation range
- 236 ft below sea level → 5,000 ftHigh point: Santa Rosa Mountains rim
- Relief
- 5,236 ftTop to bottom, inside this region
- Span
- 144 × 117 miEast–west by north–south
- Annual rainfall
- 2–6″Driest to wettest ground here
- Köppen types
- BWh3 counties
Map of Colorado Desert & Salton Trough within California.
The four seasons here
NOT A GENERIC SEASON WITH THE PLACE NAME SWAPPED INWinter
Warm, dry and clear — the season the region fills with visitors.
Spring
Hot early. Triple-digit temperatures begin in April.
Summer
Extreme heat with high dewpoints once the monsoon arrives, and violent isolated storms.
Autumn
Monsoon fades through September; the occasional decaying eastern-Pacific tropical system brings the year's heaviest rain.
Places in this region
3 PLACES, LOWEST FIRST| Place | Elevation | Jan high | Jan low | Jul high | Jul low | Annual precip | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Centro | -39 | 71° | 43° | 107° | 78° | 2.5″ | — |
| Blythe | 268 | 69° | 40° | 110° | 78° | 3.6″ | — |
| Palm Springs | 479 | 70° | 48° | 109° | 79° | 4.6″ | — |
National Parks in this weather region
FIELD NOTES FROM THE PARK TRANSECTTerrain and gradients
WHAT THE ELEVATION ACTUALLY DOESRanges and passes
A PASS IS A WIND FEATURE FIRSTNo named range or pass sits wholly inside this region.
Who forecasts it
OFFICIAL FORECASTS AND WARNINGS COME FROM HEREGolden State Weather is not a source of watches or warnings. For those, go to the offices above.