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"Southwestern Gems: Our Desert National Parks," a one-hour documentary from Arizona Public Media, showcases the best of the four major North American deserts.

A tour of remarkable locations in the Southwest is ready for fans of the national parks.

"Southwestern Gems: Our Desert National Parks," a one-hour documentary from Arizona Public Media and the producers of "The Desert Speaks," showcases the best of America's national parks, monuments, preserves and historic sites of the four major North American deserts.

The new documentary premieres on PBS-HD (KUAT Channel 6) 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23 with an encore broadcast on Sunday, Sept. 27 p.m., preceding the PBS premiere of "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" from producer Ken Burns.

"Southwestern Gems" brings to life the four major North American deserts: The Great Basin Desert of Nevada and Utah; the Mohave Desert of California; the Sonoran Desert of Arizona; and the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico and Texas.

Insight from experts and researchers from national parks within each of these locations guides viewers through the biology, geology and research that inspired the protection and preservation of these natural resources.

While each of these major desert areas has its own defining individuality, each park, monument, preserve and historic area within these deserts has the character fitting their protected designations. Some of these sites showcased in "Southwestern Gems: Our Desert National Parks" include: 

Chihuahuan Desert (New Mexico & Texas)

• Big Bend National Park
• White Sands National Monument
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park

 
Great Basin Desert (Nevada & Utah)

• Great Basin National Park
• Dinosaur National Monument

 
Mohave Desert (California)

• Joshua Tree National Park
• Death Valley National Park
• Mojave National Preserve

 
Sonoran Desert (Arizona)

• Chiricahua National Monument
• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument