| GILAMONSTER | Venomous brightly coloured lizard of the south-western US and Mexico; Heloderma suspectum (4,7) |
| GILA | A --- monster, Heloderma suspectum, is a large desert lizard (4) |
| BUTTE | An isolated, steep-sided, flat-topped hill in the western United States and Canada |
| ROADRUNNERS | Fast-moving ground cuckoos of Mexico and south-western USA (11) |
| NEWMEXICO | A state of the south-western US, crossed by the Rio Grande and the Pecos River (3,6) |
| CHOLLA | Spiny cactus of the genus Opuntia found in Mexico and the south-western US; from Spanish, 'head' or skull' (6) |
| OCOTILLO | Flowering spiny shrub of Mexico and the south-western US (Fouquieria splendens) known by names including coachwhip, Jacob's staff and vine cactus (8) |
| APACHE | Native American peoples of the south-western US (6) |
| ARIZONA | State of the south-western US (7) |
| FRIJOL | Generic term for bean, especially in Mexico and the south-western US (6) |
| RIOGRANDE | North American river, rising in Colorado and flowing to the Gulf of Mexico, forming the border between the US and Mexico |
| PUEBLOS | Towns or villages in Latin America and the south-western US, especially native American settlements (7) |
| NAVAJO | Indigenous people of the south-western USA (6) |
| MESA | Isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides, especially in the south-western US; Spanish, 'table' (4) |
| JOSHUA | The -- tree is a yucca plant of the south-western U.S. (6) |
| IBADAN | Third most populous city of Nigeria; capital of the south-western Oyo State (6) |
| MONITOR | Any tropical lizard of the genus Varanus, supposed to give warning of the approach of crocodiles |
| TEX | Cuisine from the south-western US (3,3) |
| MEX | Cuisine from the south-western US (3,3) |
| GRANDE | The Rio -- forms the border between the US and Mexico (6) |
