Anza-Borrego South: Yuha Desert

Closeup photo of Peirson's Evening Primrose with yellow flowers
Peirson's Evening Primrose, Pinto Wash, Yuha Desert

The Yuha Desert is a small part of the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Imperial County. From the Jacumba Mountains, it extends eastward across Pinto Wash to the county's agricultural area. From the Coyote Mountains and West Mesa in the United States, it extends southward to the Sierra Cucapa and Sierra Juarez in Baja California. In Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the desert from the Volcanic Hills to Imperial County can probably be considered part of the Yuha Desert.

The Yuha Desert is of interest for a number of reasons. The land was once under water, and visitors search for fossils, rocks, and minerals. Other visitors are attracted by some of the unusual plants of the area including Crucifixion Thorns on Highway 98, Desert Bird-of-Paradise in Fossil Canyon, and Wolf's Cholla in the desert's northwest along Dos Cabezas Road. The Yuha Basin was part of Anza's historic route to California and a place where Native American and early man discoveries have been made.

From a distance, a prominent physical feature is Mount Signal, or Cerro Centinela, which lies on both sides of the border.

The Yuha Desert is Bureau of Land Management land.