Desert Color Palette
Sand, dune shadow, sun-bleached clay and a burnt-amber accent — the palette of noon in arid country. Anchors: #C19A6B, #E9DCC9, #8B6F4E, #B45309.
desertsanddry
#C19A6B
#E9DCC9
#8B6F4E
#B45309
#E5D0BA
#c19a6b #e9dcc9 #8b6f4e #b45309 #e5d0ba
#C19A6B #E9DCC9 #8B6F4E #B45309 #E5D0BA
Semantic roles
Assigned deterministically: lightest = background, darkest = text, most saturated = primary.
| background | #E9DCC9 | |
| surface | #E5D0BA | |
| text | #B45309 | |
| text-muted | #8B6F4E | |
| primary | #C19A6B | |
| secondary | #8B6F4E | |
| accent | #E5D0BA |
CSS variables
:root {
--background: #e9dcc9;
--surface: #e5d0ba;
--text: #b45309;
--text-muted: #8b6f4e;
--primary: #c19a6b;
--secondary: #8b6f4e;
--accent: #e5d0ba;
}Accessibility matrix
Text color (rows) on background (columns). Green = WCAG AA pass for normal text (≥4.5:1).
| Text \ BG | #C19A6B | #E9DCC9 | #8B6F4E | #B45309 | #E5D0BA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #C19A6B | 1.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| #E9DCC9 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 1.1 |
| #8B6F4E | 1.8 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 3.1 |
| #B45309 | 1.9 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 3.4 |
| #E5D0BA | 1.7 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 1.0 |
Under deuteranopia
Machado et al. (2009) simulation, severity 1.0 — approximation, not a medical tool.
Colors in this palette
#C19A6B
Camel
#E9DCC9
Warm Beige
#8B6F4E
rgb(139, 111, 78)
#B45309
rgb(180, 83, 9)
#E5D0BA
rgb(229, 208, 186)
Similar palettes
FAQ
How do I use the desert color palette in CSS?
Copy the CSS variables below into :root and use var(--primary), var(--background) etc. Full palette: #C19A6B, #E9DCC9, #8B6F4E, #B45309, #E5D0BA.
Do these colors pass accessibility checks?
See the WCAG matrix on this page: every text-on-background pairing with ratio ≥ 4.5 passes AA for normal text; ≥ 3 passes AA for large text and UI components.