A view of a desert
By rebelann1949
@rebelann (112874)
El Paso, Texas
December 9, 2016 10:23am CST
I suppose many people think of the Sahara when they hear the word desert and although my area is considered a desert I doubt it really is.
There are few trees in my county but we have lots of bushes and among those bushes are the very small trees that are very wide.
What would you call the area in the above photo?
Oh, I took this shot many years ago before they developed most of it to build Army installations and housing.
One thing about my county is that I can see for miles and miles.
12 people like this
17 responses
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
9 Dec 16
Not all desert is miles and miles of desolate sand.
2 people like this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
9 Dec 16
Maluse gave me a good word for it, a savanna @Morleyhunt I would never have thought of that.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
9 Dec 16
Thats so true. I really don't think the area in the shot I took is actually desert, it has far too many short bushes but what would you call it?
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
9 Dec 16
@rebelann I see a lot of what I would call "scrub". When you go into Northern Ontario there are areas of rock....with just scrubby brush growing here at there. It looks barren and forlorn, yet shockingly beautiful at the same time.
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
14 Jan 17
That is a beautiful view. I love how blue the sky is out west. Those wide open spaces are so great to look at.
2 people like this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
14 Jan 17
Now that you mention it, I have to wonder what it's like in a wooded area where there are so many trees. I guess you don't really get to see that much of the sky if the trees are really tall.
@Ceerios (4698)
• Goodfellow, Texas
9 Dec 16
@rebelann - If it is dry and without much rain, and plenty hot, without a lot of green stuff growing around, and devoid of a great many "usual" things, the place might be called a desert. It is interesting that the wettest places on our planet (the oceans) can have deserts in which there is not much alive save water waves - no sea weeds, no plankton, few critters - and those wet places are also called deserts. Also, how about Antarctica? Which reminds me of an old puzzle (kinda funny, too) - How come that polar bears leave the penguins alone and simply pick on those blubbery seals? -Gus-
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10145)
• United States
9 Dec 16
Places don't have to be hot to qualify as desert. What defines them is sparse vegetation and very little precipitation, so even parts of the polar regions can be classified as deserts.
As for the polar bear question, well... I imagine there are few (if any) polar bears that have had the opportunity to dine on penguin. 
2 people like this
@Ceerios (4698)
• Goodfellow, Texas
9 Dec 16
@yukimori - Hi Yuki - Some deserts can get hot, and others can get mighty cold. Deserts are often considered to be considerably devoid of living creatures - but that is not altogether correct. AND - you hit it right on target about the penguins and the polar bears. -Gus-
1 person likes this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
1 Jan 17
I'd call it (1) El Paso, (2) scrub, (3) low desert. Been through there a few times. My 2d hubs went to school there —UTEP— for a year or so. Kinky Friedman once sang a song about El Paso, modelled after Okie from Muskogee.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
1 Jan 17
OH yeah, day or night we can get great views of the sky most of the time @blitzfrick clouds are rare and only occur when there's a major event I want to see
2 people like this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
1 Jan 17
@rebelann Wikipedia:
I bet you don't have to go far from EP to get a great view of the night sky.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Kinky Friedman Personal details Born Richard Samet Friedman (1944-11-01) November 1, 1944 (age 72) Chicago, Illinois, United States Political party Republican (Before 2004) Independent (2004
1 person likes this
@His_chariot (375)
• United States Minor Outlying Islands
9 Dec 16
I like the photo and think there is beauty in it. Looks like desert to me. And most deserts don't have many
trees.
2 people like this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
9 Dec 16
Conversations can be had on anyones piece @His_chariot that's the beauty of mylot.
1 person likes this
@His_chariot (375)
• United States Minor Outlying Islands
9 Dec 16
@rebelann Besides a piece to have some conversation and feed back on? Have a great posting day.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
9 Dec 16
you're right. say desert and i picture sand dunes. say being able to see for miles and to me it means no shade and nowhere to hide.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
9 Dec 16
Sand dunes is also what I picture when I think of a desert and although we do have a few sand dunes around there are far too many bushes to be considered a true desert. As for shade, well if you are short like a snake or lizard or mouse or scorpion then you could hide under those short bushes, too bad I am too tall.
1 person likes this
@xstitcher (32508)
• Petaluma, California
10 Dec 16
Actually, when someone says "desert" I think of Las Vegas, as the desert was searched in crime scenes in the original CSI. But, when lots of people think of deserts I suppose they may think of cactuses and no water and the like.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
10 Dec 16
Yeah, our desert does look a lot like that around Las Vegas. It's usually dry here and even in winter it isn't as cold as it is in other parts of the USA. Thing is we don't really have a lot of cacti, mostly we have yuccas around the mountain area and the bushes as in the above photo.
@yukimori (10145)
• United States
9 Dec 16
Yeah, that's definitely desert. What defines deserts is the fact that they get very little precipitation, and any vegetation that grows there is sparse. Although we usually think of places like the Sahara as "real" desert, there are deserts in the polar regions and places like Alaska and the Himalayas, too. They're sometimes referred to as "cold deserts" because of the temperatures in the area.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
9 Dec 16
You mentioned lack of or sparse precipitation so how can a place like the polar regions qualify, don't they get plenty of precipitation in the form of snow?
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
10 Dec 16
It shows the area is Ft. Bliss. For me, it would be Fort Nowhere!
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
11 Dec 16
I was just on Loop 375 which was just becoming a major throughway and yes, this is a part of Ft Bliss. Nowhere is what people who are used to the lush forests and meadows of the eastern states call it, to me is is teaming with life, not what you're used to.
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
8 Aug 17
Yes, this is a view from Loop 375 between Dyer St and Montana Ave, I was facing northerly, those mountains are in NM.
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
12 Dec 16
Thank you so much 
Mostly scrub I would think and some very short mesquite trying to grow. Most anything in a desert tends to spread rather than grow tall, that way if it sprinkles a little they'd get more moisture.
Mostly scrub I would think and some very short mesquite trying to grow. Most anything in a desert tends to spread rather than grow tall, that way if it sprinkles a little they'd get more moisture.
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
9 Dec 16
I would call it desert as it is an extension of the same terrain reaching across the southwest Texas to California.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112874)
• El Paso, Texas
9 Dec 16
Yeah, that's true. Trouble is that when we look at pics of the Sahara which is a true desert I get the feeling what we have is not.
