Tropical steppes border the tropical deserts on both the north and south, and in places on the east as well. Locally because of altitude, plateaus and high plains within what would otherwise be desert have a semiarid steppe climate. Steppes on the poleward fringes of the tropical deserts grade into the Mediterranean climate in many places. In the United States, they are cut off from the Mediterranean climate by coastal mountains that allow tropical deserts to extend farther north.

Trewartha (1968) classifies the climate of tropical/subtropical steppes as BSh, indicating a hot semiarid climate where potential evaporation exceeds precipitation, and where all months have temperatures above 32F (0C).

Steppes typically are grasslands of short grasses and other herbs, and with locally developed shrub- and woodland. On the Colorado Plateau, for example, there is pinyon-juniper woodland. To the east, in Texas, the grasslands grade into savanna woodland or semideserts composed of xerophytic shrubs and trees, and the climate becomes semiarid-subtropical. Cactus plants are present in some places. These areas are able to support limited grazing, but are not generally moist enough for crop cultivation without irrigation. Soils are commonly Mollisols and Aridisols, containing some humus.

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