have had substantial impacts on the region's habitats and wildlife. Many unique communities, particularly aquatic and dune systems, are limited in distribution and separated by vast expanses of inhospitable, arid desert terrain. Even limited human disturbances can have markedly deleterious effects on the endemic and sensitive species supported by these unique regional systems. Some of the greatest human-caused effects on the region have resulted from the water diversions and flood control measures along the Colorado River. These measures have dramatically altered the region's hydrology by redistributing the region's water supply to large expanses of irrigated agriculture and metropolitan coastal areas such as Los Angeles and San Diego. The once-dynamic Salton Sea and Colorado River ecosystems are now controlled by human water management. Because of the scarcity of water resources in the desert environment, these alterations have had substantial impacts on regional wildlife and habitats. In addition, portions of the region are experiencing substantial growth and development pressures, most notably the Coachella Valley. See also Yuma Desert Chihuahuan Desert Deserts of California List of North American deserts References External links Colorado Desert – Overview from California Wildlife Action Plan site Deserts and xeric shrublands in the United States Ecoregions of California Sonoran Desert Deserts of California Deserts of the Lower Colorado River Valley Coachella Valley Imperial Valley Geography of Riverside County, California Geography of San Bernardino County, California Geography of Southern California