Geography and Geology
The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately 7 million acres (28,000 km2), reaching from the Northwest Mexico border region in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in the east to the Laguna Mountains of the Peninsular Ranges in the west. The desert encompasses Imperial County and includes parts of San Diego County, Riverside County, and a small part of San Bernardino County.
The majority of the Colorado Desert lies at a relatively low elevation, below 1,000 feet (300 m), with the lowest point of the desert floor at 275 feet (84 m) below sea level at the Salton Sea. Although the highest peaks of the Peninsular Range reach elevations of nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m), most of the region's mountains do not exceed 3,000 feet (910 m).
In this region, the geology is dominated by the transition of the tectonic plate boundary from rift to fault. The southernmost strands of the San Andreas Fault connect to the northern-most extensions of the East Pacific Rise. Consequently, the region is subject to earthquakes, and the crust is being stretched, resulting in a sinking of the terrain over time.
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