Agriculture in the Southwestern United States

Agriculture in the Southwest United States is very important economically in that region.

The three main watersheds of the southwest United States are the Colorado River Basin, the Great Basin, and the Rio Grande Basin. The Colorado River Basin includes parts of California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. The Colorado River is the largest river in the Southwest United States. The Great Basin watershed includes parts of southern California, most of Utah, the northwest half of Nevada, and parts of Oregon and Idaho. The Rio Grande Basin includes most of New Mexico, some of western Texas, and a small portion of Colorado.

Almost all of Arizona drains into the Colorado River. Most of New Mexico drains into either the Rio Grande or the Pecos River, its tributary. Other watersheds of New Mexico include the Canadian River in the northeast, the San Juan in the Northwest, and the Gila (tributary of Colorado River) in the southwest.

The southwest United States has a very rugged and diverse geography, including the Rocky Mountains in the north, a large amount of rangeland, and deserts to the south. The Southwest United States also receives more sunlight than any other region of the United States, so it is warmer on average.

There are two main physiographic regions which Arizona is a part of. North and east Arizona is part of the Colorado Plateau, and the Basin and Range is in southern and western Arizona.

The Colorado Plateau is a flat, elevated land of soft sedimentary rock about 5,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level. Rivers cut deep canyons and gorges into the plateau, the largest of which is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, which is in the northwest corner of Arizona. There are also scattered mountains and mesas throughout the mostly flat plateau. The highest mountains in Arizona are the San Francisco Mountains in the northern part of Arizona.

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