Bow Willow Palms
Map SatelliteBow Willow Canyon contains one of the most isolated stands of the California fan palm, Washingtonia filifera, the only palm native to the southwestern United States. There are several groves, the largest with seven specimens.
The dominant vegetation in the canyon, which is rather narrow, with steep sides, and which rises 300 meters (1,000 feet) in less than 1,600 meters (1 mile), is creosote bush scrub, with creosote bush, Larrea tridentata, ocotillo, Fouquieria splendens, Agave deserti and jumping cholla, Opuntia bigelovii.
Fauna is typical of the Anza-Borrego area and is comparatively abundant here.
See Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Integrity: The area is virtually undisturbed. It lies primarily within the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Use: Research, educational, observational, light recreational.
August 1976
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
