Plant Life...in the Eagle Mountains

As seen during my 1978 fieldwork in the Eagle Mountains.  There were - no doubt others - but not being as observant as I am now, I missed them.

On the slopes of the mountains, as in the East Mill area, there were Junipers, Mesquite, Cholla, Prickly Pear, and Creosote Bushes.  In the higher, cooler areas there were scrub oaks, in sheltered lower areas there were pine trees and grasslands.  One valley even hosted some muscadine (wild grape) vines.

In the Temperate Chihuahuan Desert, isolated mountain ranges are referred to as "Islands of Diversity" or "Sky Islands".  The Orographic Effect yields more rainfall for the mountains in contrast to the surrounding flatter areas and where there are valleys, the morning and afternoon shading helps entrap moisture when it does rain.  Additionally, the eastern slopes of these mountain ranges tend to be greener, as the cooler morning sun causes less evaporation in contrast to the hotter, western slopes with their afternoon sun.

All of these factors - along with variations in slope and altitude and cooler temperatures due to higher elevations - produce a diverse array of Micro-Climates and Micro-Ecosystems, thus the name "Islands of Diversity".

This phenomenon is also well displayed in the Davis Mountains to the east.