Habitat & Distribution
The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), a species of gopher tortoise, occurs in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, north and west of the Colorado River in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California. Populations occur from sea level to approximately 3,500 feet and they live in a variety of habitats including sandy flats, rocky foothills, canyons and washes. They were once a common site throughout the desert, but with continued human development and degradation of their habitat, populations of desert tortoises declined significantly in the past several decades.
Desert tortoises are listed as federally threatened under the United States Fish and Wildlife Endangered Species Act.