The Joshua Tree National Park has nearly 800,000 acres of pristine desert land in Southern California. In 1936 Joshua Tree was proclaimed a National Monument by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1984. In 1994 Joshua Tree was redesignated as a National Park.
The Joshua Tree National Park encompasses parts of two deserts and with their individual ecosystems. The eastern part of the park is in the low-lying (below 3000 feet), Pinto Basin of the Sonoran (Colorado) Desert. This desert terrain is hot and arid, with abundant creosote bush and small strands of spidery ocotillo and jumping cholla cactus. The westernern part of the park is in the southern Mohave Desert. Its elevation is 3000 to 6000 feet, and is slightly cooler and somewhat moister than the eastern part. It is the habitat of the unusual Joshua Tree, for which the park is named. It also has a number of unique rock formations called Inselbergs. All plant and animal life, and rocks within the park are protected.
To the casual observer, the desert may appear stark and empty, perhaps even useless. However, in spite of its harshness, the desert is a land of surprising variety and beauty, and of complexity and extreme fragility. Patience and careful observation will reward the diligent seeker. Following a sudden spring cloudburst, a flourish of desert wildflowers in a vast array of colors may appear as a carpet over the desert floor, reawakening to sprout, flower, and renew their kind. Well timed rains and a crisp winter freeze invariably results in the awsome spectakle of Joshua Trees in bloom. Even a tiny flower bud preparing to bloom, a lizard's frantic dash for cover, the skittering of a scorpion after an unsuspecting insect, the head of a tortoise emerging from its burrow, the tentative foraging of a kangaroo rat or the majestic flight of a golden eagle reveal Joshua Tree as a place of beauty and life.
Allowing yourself plenty of time to watch and ponder as you travel through the park is a must. It is impossible to appreciate the gifts of the desert if you are rushing. Joshua Tree National Park can provide the finding freedom from everyday routines which allow for exploration, and meditation, for self-discovery and refuge for the human spirit. Take time. Let the desert take hold of you.
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