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| Joshua Tree National Park is immense, nearly 800,000 acres, and infinitely
variable. It can seem unwelcoming, even brutal during the heat of summer
when, in fact, it is delicate and extremely fragile. This is a land shaped
by strong winds, sudden torrents of rain, and climatic extremes. Rainfall
is sparse and unpredictable. Streambeds are usually dry and waterholes are
few. Viewed in summer, this land may appear defeated and dead, but within
this parched environment are intricate living systems waiting for the opportune
moment to reproduce. The individuals, both plant and animal, that inhabit
the park are not individualists. They depend on their entire ecosystem for
survival. |
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| Two deserts, two large ecosystems primarily determined by elevation, come
together in the park. Few areas more vividly illustrate the contrast between
“high” and “low” desert. Below 3000 feet (910 m), the
Colorado Desert, occupying the eastern half of the park, is dominated by
the abundant creosote bush.
Adding interest to this arid land are small stands of spidery ocotillo and
cholla cactus. |
| The higher, slightly cooler, and wetter Mojave
Desert is the special habitat of the undisciplined Joshua
tree, extensive stands of which occur throughout the western half of
the park. According to legend, Mormon pioneers considered
the limbs of the Joshua trees to resemble the upstretched arms of Joshua
leading them to the promised land. Others were not as visionary. Early explorer
John Fremont described them as "…the most repulsive tree in the
vegetable Kingdom." |
| Standing like islands in a desolate sea, oases, a third ecosystem, provide
dramatic contrast to their arid surroundings. Six fan
palm oases dot the park, indicating those few areas where water occurs
naturally at or near the surface, meeting the special life requirements
of those stately trees. Oases once serving earlier desert visitors now abound
in wildlife. |
| The park encompasses some of the most interesting geologic
displays found in California’s deserts. Rugged mountains of twisted
rock and exposed granite monoliths testify to the tremendous earth forces
that shaped and formed this land. Arroyos, playas, alluvial fans, bajadas,
pediments, desert varnish, granites, aplite, and gneiss interact to form
a giant mosaic of immense beauty and complexity. |
| As old as the desert may look, it is but a temporary phenomenon in the
incomprehensible time-scale of geology. In more verdant times, one of the
Southwest’s earliest inhabitants, members of the Pinto
Culture, lived in the now dry Pinto Basin. Later, Indians
traveled through this area in tune with harvests of pinyon nuts, mesquite
beans, acorns, and cactus fruit, leaving behind rock
paintings and pottery ollas as reminders of their passing. |
| In the late 1800s cattlemen came to the desert. They built dams to create
water tanks. They were followed by miners who tunneled the earth
in search of gold. They are gone now, but they left behind the Lost Horse
and Desert Queen mines and the Keys Ranch. In
the 1930s homesteaders came seeking free land and the chance to start new
lives. Today many people come to the park’s
794,000 acres of open space seeking clear skies and clean air, and the
peace and
tranquility, the quietude and beauty, only deserts offer. |
| The life force is patient here. Desert vegetation, often appearing to
have succumbed to this hot sometimes unrelentedly dry environment, lies
dormant, awaiting the rainfall and moderate weather that will trigger its
growth, painting the park a profusion of colors. At the edges of daylight
and under clear night skies lives a number of generally unfamiliar desert
animals. Waiting out daytime heat, these creatures run, hop, crawl,
and burrow in the slow rhythm of desert life. Under bright sun and blue
sky, bighorn sheep and golden eagles add an air of unconcerned majesty
to this land. |
| For all its harshness, the desert is a land of extreme fragility.
Today’s moment of carelessness may leave lasting scars or disrupt an
intricate system of life that has existed for eons. When viewed from the
roadside, the desert only hints at its hidden life. To the close observer,
a tiny flower bud or a lizard’s frantic dash reveals a place of beauty
and vitality. Take your time as you travel through Joshua Tree National
Park. The desert provides space for self-discovery, and can be a refuge
for the human spirit. |
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http://www.nps.gov/jotr/desert/desert.html
last modified: 06/01/05
web editor: sandra kaye
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