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English: Download this desktop wallpaper of the Gila Lower Box Canyon in New Mexico for colorful, spring flowers all year round.

The Wilderness Study Area encompassing the Gila Lower Box Canyon is a true oasis in the desert in southwest New Mexico. A lush thicket of cottonwood, willows, and other riparian vegetation line the banks of the river. Wildflowers abound in wet years and include vibrant fields of orange poppies that peak in March and April depending on the year.

The area provides some of the best birding in New Mexico. Home to approximately 200 species, it has one of the highest bird diversities in the state. The area provides habitat to many rare and unusual birds including Bell’s vireo, peregrine, bald eagle (in winter), golden eagle, black hawk, zone-tail hawk, Grey hawk, yellow-billed cuckoo, Gila wood pecker, and Abert’s towhee.

The river provides opportunities for canoeing or rafting during years of high spring runoff, but flows are normally better suited to tubing and to shore-based activities such as fishing for small mouth bass and several species of catfish.

Photos by Mike Howard, BLM New Mexico