The Desert Sea

In this hour we explore why the Sonoran is the wettest and most diverse desert in the Americas due to its unique proximity to the Sea of Cortez and the great Pacific Ocean - a coastal desert next to an extraordinary rich marine environment of sea lions, dolphins and even blue whales. We'll see how the sea creates summer monsoons that replenish the diverse wildlife and flora. The Sonoran is also home to the biggest cacti in North America - a saguaro weighs several tons and which can live for 2 centuries.

The 2nd episode focuses on the abundant and diverse creatures that have adapted to desert life in this unique environment: from big cats, giant hares and killer insects, to extraordinary reptiles and even a bird that can run at high speeds. It's home to the world's largest cactus, the saguaro. Thanks to the monsoons that fall across the desert, both in the winter and summer, the Sonoran is the most biologically diverse of North America's four deserts. There are over 96 endemic reptiles and 2000 native plants species. Here you see animals as diverse as the coati, the horned owl and even the rarely seen mountain lion.