Desert, mountains, water—somehow Mesa got it all. Located along a spit of the Sonoran Desert, Mesa is warm and arid every month of the year and enjoys the flora and fauna of the desert clime. Saguaro and prickly pear cacti are abundant, along with varieties of cholla, and the dry soil outside the city is wandered by rattlesnakes, jack rabbits, bobcats, hawks, and owls. While Mesa gets 320 days of sunshine annually and temperatures in the 100s during the summer, the city also has easy access to six local lakes and two nearby rivers. The Superstition Mountain range just to the east of the city provides some altitude to the mesas and valleys of the area.
Area: 125.18 square miles (2000)
Elevation: 1,241 feet above sea level
Average Temperatures: January, 54.1° F; July, 91.1° F; annual average, 84.5° F
Average Annual Precipitation: 8.5 inches