Escalante Desert

The Escalante Desert is a desert in the southwest of the U.S. state of Utah in the United States of America, northwest of Cedar City.

The desert is located between State Route 21 and State Route 56, and is bounded on the southeast by Interstate 15. The Escalante has an area of ​​7,800 km ² and covers the largest part of Iron County.

The highest parts of the desert region are at a level of 1,700 m above sea level and slowly fall to an average level of 1,550 m at Lund Flats from a mile northwest of Lund and the railway line to Milford. The average rainfall is about 200 mm per year.

In 2005, three large fissures were discovered near Beryl Junction. It is believed that the fracturing due to the removal of ground water for irrigation.

The desert was named after the Spanish priest Silvestre Vélez de Escalante.