Reading Read the text and write the best heading A–F for each paragraph. There are two extra headings.
A How’s the weather in the Sonoran Desert?
B Who lives in the Sonoran Desert now?
C How much rain falls in Arizona?
D Who used to live in the area?
E What are the forms of natural life?
F Where is the Sonoran Desert?
PLACES TO VISIT: THE SONORAN DESERT
1___
The Sonoran Desert is the largest desert in North America. It covers an area of 120,000 square miles. Part of the desert goes over south-west Arizona, part over south-east California and the rest over north-west Mexico. The western part of the United States–Mexico border passes through the Sonoran Desert.
2___
Native American groups lived in the region for hundreds of years before the Spanish came in the 15th century and colonised a large part of the desert. Now, you can see the remains of an early Native American civilisation, the Hohokam tribe, who created villages and an advanced canal system to carry water for their plants.
3___
Eighty per cent of the whole Arizona population live in the Sonoran Desert, mainly in towns such as Tucson and Phoenix. It’s a surprise because the desert covers only twenty per cent of Arizona’s total area and this area has very little rainfall compared to other parts of the state, so water has to be taken from the ground. The desert is also home to over seventeen Native American tribes with settlements in reservations.
4___
Because the temperature in summer rarely falls below 38°C and the winters are never cold, the main form of vegetation in this area is cacti. There is also a variety of wildflowers which appear after the winter rains and disappear in the first heat of the spring. You will not find many animals in the desert, except for some mice or rabbits and one of the ‘big cats’ called the mountain lion.
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