Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park has become increasingly popular in recent years. Bird-watchers find the area particularly attractive in the spring; rock climbers test themselves among the giant boulderlike formations of quartz monzonite; and hikers enjoy such wonderful trails as the four-mile path to Lost Palms Oasis, where the rare California Fan Palm can be seen. Joshua Tree is one of the most interesting national parks on the West Coast, and certainly one of the best introductions to the quiet splendor of the Mojave Desert.

Joshua Tree National Park Photo Opportunities

Joshua Tree National Park has much to offer the nature photographer. Its plant life, unusual geology, and critters present many opportunities to snap the perfect picture. Here are a few ideas:

Joshua Tree National Park Wildlife Observing desert wildlife can be a challenging endeavor. Many animals are nocturnal, coming out of their hiding places only at night to hunt or gather food. Others tend to be shy, skittering away as soon as you approach.

Birds are perhaps the most commonly seen animals here. In addition to species that reside in the desert year-round, there are a variety of birds that migrate through the park in spring and fall or spend the entire winter.

Less visible are the park's many reptiles. Although small lizards are often seen scooting across the rocks, most reptiles -- including several species of snakes, some poisonous -- are rarely encountered (and many visitors prefer it that way). Occasionally seen is the slow-moving desert tortoise, one of the few threatened or endangered species that reside in the park.

Consider yourself lucky if you spot one of the park's large mammals. Coyotes, perhaps the cleverest critters in the West, are sometimes seen loping across a road or hiking trail. Bighorn sheep keep their distance on the park's rocky slopes. Rarely seen bobcats prowl about in the mornings and evenings. Jackrabbits and a variety of rodents, including ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, and white-footed mice, scamper across the desert floor.

As always, it's wise to shake out boots and sleeping bags in order to remove unwanted guests such as scorpions, which pack a painful, though rarely fatal, sting.

Joshua Tree National Park has a long and interesting history. On the next page, we'll discuss this aspect of the region.

The history of Joshua Tree National Park is, of course, rooted in the Joshua tree itself. When western explorer John C. Fremont encountered a Joshua tree in 1844, he described it as "the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom." An overstatement? Perhaps. But Fremont's words contain a grain of truth. With its shaggy bark, ungainly limbs, and clusters of daggerlike leaves, the Joshua tree is truly an odd-looking plant.

This oversized member of the lily family has also had its share of admirers. After struggling across the Mojave Desert in 1849, William Manly called it a "brave little tree to live in such barren country." And a party of Mormon emigrants passed through in 1851. As the story goes, they took courage from the upraised limbs that seemed to beckon them across the desert just as, in biblical times, Joshua called forth the Israelites: "These green trees are lifting their arms to heaven in supplication. We shall call them Joshua trees!"

The region of the Mojave Desert now known as Joshua Tree National Park attracted a variety of human inhabitants over the years, including the native Serrano and Chemehuevi Indians, who trapped small game in the underbrush and gathered the nutrient-rich seeds of palm trees and mesquite. Meanwhile, a steady stream of prospectors and teamsters used the oases in the region as way stations in their travels across the desert, and ranchers utilized them to graze and water livestock.  As always in the desert, these precious water sources were the hub of both human and animal activity.

The diverse ecosystems and unusual plant and animal life found in Joshua Tree National Park make it well worth visiting. You can enjoy oases, rock formations, wildlife, and stark desert vegetation -- and it's all within an hour's drive of Palm Springs.

^{© Publications International, Ltd.}