Mojave National Preserve

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.

Mojave National Preserve is both vast and intimate. The product of hundreds of millions of years of geologic activity, its enormous valleys and isolated mountain ranges redefine our sense of space and time. This book presents a complex world of rare plants and animals and incomparable geology. Photos by David Muench, Jeff Gnass, and Larry Ulrich.

Explore this magnificent desert national parkland and celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mojave National Preserve with this new edition of this comprehensive guide. Great auto tours and suggested hikes help you explore vast sand dunes, volcanic peaks, historical attractions and old Route 66.Experience the wonders of Hole-in-the-Wall, the Mojave River, Kelso Dunes and Mitchell Caverns. Tour the world's largest Joshua tree forest. Follow paths of history to Fort Piute, Kelso Depot, Nipton, Goffs and Zzyzx. Hike the enchanted canyons and intriguing summits of a dozen mountain ranges. Get your kicks on old Route 66.Updated and revised in close cooperation with the National Park Service, this book, the only comprehensive guide to Mojave National Preserve offers a great introduction to this wondrous desert land and plenty of suggestions for follow-up visits.* Engaging auto tours, great hikes, clear maps and directions* Get to know the land-its plants, wildlife, mountains and valleys* Visit mining towns, cinder cones and a visitor center/train depot* Discover the best hiking trails, picnic sites, campsites, and lodging "Mojave National Preserve: A Visitor's Guide is a key resource to begin your exploration and to plan each follow-up visit," notes park superintendent Dennis Schramm in his introduction to the new edition of the book. "Authors Cheri Rae and John McKinney know the Preserve and all of its wonders, and their guidebook will help you discover them for yourself."

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.

"Introducing the concept of "interpretive planning" - a method that takes into account conflicting views of all interested parties - she offers explicit steps for the planner and policy analyst to use. This book will appeal to scholars and students in environmental studies, planning and landscape architecture, and history, as well as professionals in planning, resource management, the National Park Service, and related conservation organizations, public and private."--BOOK JACKET.

This guidebook to the Mojave National Preserve presents nearly 100 hiking options, as well information on the area's natural and cultural histories.

Presents a history of the Mojave Road, originally an Indian trail, from the first explorations in the 1820s to its years as a wagon road in the 1870s and 80s, focusing on that portion of the road from the California Desert to the Colorado River.

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.