Tonopah Desert Tonopah Desert The Tonopah Desert is a small desert plains region of the Sonoran Desert, located west of Phoenix, Arizona. It is adjacent north of Interstate 10 and lies at the southwest intersection of the Hassayampa River with the Gila River. The Tonopah Desert is also just north of the Gila Bend Mountains massif which create the Gila Bend of the river. The Tonopah Desert is adjacent northwest of the small Palo Verde Hills on Centennial Wash. The Tonopah Desert is mostly east-west trending, small, approximately 30 mi long, and lies at the plains of low elevation mountains north; the
Badain Jaran Desert the dunes also contribute to maintain their fixed state. This rigid structure also allows peaks, cliffs, gullies and even caves to form as a result of water erosion and desertification. The Badain Jaran Desert, like the Tengger Desert which lies to the east (and with which the Badain Jaran Desert is currently merging due to extensive desertification) is about one-half barren, sandy desert and one-half a mixture of solid bedrock and loose gravel. Several small lakes and oases scatter the desert around which limited vegetation is able to grow. The Badain Jaran Desert is well known for its numerous scattered