Mojave Desert Peaks

This guide showcases 130 peak hikes/climbs selected among 41 mountain ranges in California's Mojave Desert.

THE THIRD LARGEST DESERT PARK in the country, Mojave National Preserve protects 1.6 million acres of spectacular arid lands at the heart of the Mojave Desert. Part of the celebrated Great Basin province, it is a spellbinding region of mighty mountain ranges rising thousands of feet above vast inland basins. Famous for the majestic Kelso Dunes, the Devils Playground, and the world¹s largest Joshua tree forest, the preserve also holds considerable natural and cultural wealth, including a wild range of landscapes, striking plant communities, and a rich mining past. Above all, it is a land of contrasts, alternatively forlorn and vibrant with life, stark and colorful, blanketed in snow in the winter, awash with wildflowers in the spring, and scorching hot in the summer. Being high-desert country and generally a little cooler than Death Valley, topographically less rugged, and far less visited, it offers a tremendous potential for comparatively easier hiking in complete solitude.

The definitive guide to more than 300 of the most remote and diverse desert mountains in Anza-Borrego, Death Valley, Red Rock, Spring Mountains, Toiyabe Forest, and more! Complete with tips, directions, descriptions, 18 maps, and over 130 photos.

Desert Summits A Climbing & Hiking Guide to California & Southern Nevada - Updated edition now available - $21.95 189334312X 416 pages - Peaks and ranges not previously covered - Updated road and route information - Readable natural and human history - Internet resources for visiting these areas - Complete bibliography - Geologist and author, Andy Zdon (Geology of the Las Vegas Region), has been traveling the desert west for 25 years.

Mojave Desert Trails explores some of the most interesting historic and geological sites in the Mojave Desert. Ecologically and environmentally diverse, the Mojave Desert encompasses a dramatic and enchanting landscape of ancient volcanic cinder cones, Joshua tree forests, sand dunes and rugged mountains. Weather in the Mojave changes as dramatically as its terrain: triple digits from late spring to early fall with winter temps often dropping below freezing. A wet winter, with both rain and snow, will prepare the Mojave Desert for a spectacular display of spring flowers.

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Veteran backpacker and climber John Hart presents a thoroughly revised version of the only guide to this vast, diverse, rarely traveled wilderness area. Hart details over 200 trails that allow for everything from brief, easy nature walks to rugged treks. 47 maps.

The Mojave Desert eco-region extends from eastern California to northwestern Arizona, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah, and boasts plant communities as diverse as alkali sinks, dune systems, Joshua tree woodland, pinyon juniper woodland, mixed mojave scrub, and even riparian woodland. This fully updated and revised edition will be appreciated not only by amateur wildflower enthusiasts, but experts will also find the detailed photographs and charts useful in distinguishing among similar species in difficult groups. Species are arranged by color and plant family for easy identification. This guide features 300 of the common species, full-color photographs (many brand new to this edition), detailed descriptions, information on bloom season, and interesting facts about each plant.