San Bernardino Valley (Arizona)
Encyclopedia
- For the valley in Southern California, see: San Bernardino ValleySan Bernardino ValleyThe San Bernardino Valley is a valley in Southern California. It lies at the south base of the Transverse Ranges. It is bordered on the north by the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and San Bernardino Mountains, on the east by the San Jacinto Mountains, and on the south and west by the Santa Ana...
The San Bernardino Valley of Arizona is a 40 mi (64 km) northeast by southwest trending valley in extreme southeast Cochise County
Cochise County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*78.5% White*4.2% Black*1.2% Native American*1.9% Asian*0.3% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*4.0% Two or more races*9.6% Other races*32.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, Arizona.
The north end of the valley merges into the northwest by southeast trending San Simon Valley
San Simon Valley
The San Simon Valley is a broad valley east of the Chiricahua Mountains, in the northeast corner of Cochise County, Arizona and southeastern Graham County, with a small portion near Antelope Pass in Hidalgo County of southwestern New Mexico. The valley trends generally north-south but in its...
; both merge in western Hidaldgo County
Hidalgo County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.3% White*0.6% Black*0.8% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.8% Two or more races*11.0% Other races*56.6% Hispanic or Latino...
, New Mexico. The valley is an asymmetric graben
Graben
In geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural....
.
The valley borders the southeast of the Chiricahua Mountains
Chiricahua Mountains
The Chiricahua Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Arizona which are part of the Basin and Range province of the southwest, and part of the Coronado National Forest...
; the San Simon borders the northeast. San Bernardino Valley abuts the Peloncillo Mountains
Peloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)
The Peloncillo Mountains of Hidalgo County, , is a major 35-mi long mountain range of southwest New Mexico's Hidalgo County, and also part of the New Mexico Bootheel region. The range continues to the northwest into Arizona as the Peloncillo Mountains of Cochise County, Arizona...
of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
on the east, and the smaller adjoining range to its south, the Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains (Hidalgo County)
The Guadalupe Mountains of Hidalgo County are a 13 mi long, sub– range in southwest Hidalgo County, New Mexico, adjacent the southeast border of Arizona's Cochise County. A small portion of the range is in Cochise County, namely the outlet of Guadalupe Canyon, famous for the Guadalupe...
. To the south, the valley borders Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the north regions of the Sierra del Tigre
Sierra del Tigre
Sierra del Tigre is a mountain range in northeastern Sonora, Mexico at the northern region of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The region contains sky island mountain ranges, called the Madrean Sky Islands, some separated from the Sierra Madre Occidental proper, and occurring in the northeastern...
range. At the northern end of the Sierra del Tigre, the Rio San Bernardino joins the Bavispe River
Bavispe River
The Rio Bavispe or Bavispe River is a river in Mexico which flows briefly north then mainly south by southwest until it joins with the Aros River to become the Yaqui River, eventually joining the Gulf of California.-History:...
, then heads south to Mexico. To the northwest and west, the San Bernardino Valley abuts the Chiricahua
Chiricahua Mountains
The Chiricahua Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Arizona which are part of the Basin and Range province of the southwest, and part of the Coronado National Forest...
s, Pedregosa, and Perilla Mountains.
At the very south of the valley, north of Douglas, Arizona
Douglas, Arizona
Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico and a history of mining.The population was 14,312 at the 2000 census...
-Agua Prieta
Agua Prieta
Agua Prieta is a pueblo and municipality in the northeastern corner of the Mexican state of Sonora . It stands on the U.S.–Mexico border, adjacent to the town of Douglas, Arizona, USA. The municipality covers an area of 3,631.65 km²...
, Mexico lies the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge
San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge
The San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge is located on the U.S.-Mexican border in Cochise County, Arizona. Situated at 3,720 to elevation in the bottom of a wide valley, the refuge encompasses a portion of the headquarters of the Yaqui River, which drains primarily western Chihuahua and eastern...
. The refuge, grasslands, and wetlands are part of the south and southwest-flowing Yaqui River
Yaqui River
The Yaqui River is a river in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Being the largest river system in the state of Sonora, the Yaqui river is used for irrigation....
of Mexico that reaches the northern Sea of Cortez.
Bernardino volcanic field
The San Bernardino Valley floor is covered by basaltBasalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
dating from 0.27 to 1.0 Ma. The field covers some 850 km2 and consists of olivine basalt flows, tuff rings and maar
Maar
A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption, an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake. The name comes from the local Moselle...
s with 130 identified volcanic vent areas and cinder cone
Cinder cone
According to the , Cinder Cone is the proper name of 1 cinder cone in Canada and 7 cinder cones in the United States:In Canada: Cinder Cone In the United States:...
s.