Crossroads by Wild Mountain Echoes

Southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico lie in an incredible biological crossroads. Here a small archipelago of mountain ranges lie between the Rocky Mountains of the US and the Sierra Madre of Mexico. The area also divides the Sonoran Desert to the west from the Chihuahuan Desert to the east. Components of all four ecosystems can be found here, creating an incredible amount of biodiversity in both plants and animals. Each mountain range is different, reflecting its position relative to the major biomes – those closer to the border have more Mexican species, those further north have more Rocky Mountain species, and the same with the east-west orientation and the distribution of the desert species.

Natural soundscapes recorded in the western United States, by ecologist Christine Hass.