JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK protects about 793,000 acres in southeastern California, approximately 140 miles east of Los Angeles.  Two major desert systems—the Mojave and the Colorado—abut within the park, dividing Joshua Tree into two quite dissimilar arid ecosystems.  The differences between the two regions result from differences in elevation.  The Colorado (which is actually the westernmost portion of the Sonoran Desert) is “low desert,” generally encompassing elevations below 3,000 feet.  Temperatures are usually higher here.  The loftier, cooler, and wetter Mojave—“high desert”—is more vegetated and less sparse and forbidding.  On average, the Mojave region is 11 degrees cooler than the Colorado section of the park. 

Joshua Tree is known for its fan palm oases; evidences of human habitation from long ago, such as Barker’s Dam and Key’s Ranch; and seasonal “gardens” of cholla and ocotillo.  It is also known for massive rock formations—including many that make the park a mecca for rock climbers, and many others that winds have eroded into amazing shapes reminding visitors of elephants, seals, and a plethora of other creatures and objects.  Some visitors see these shapes as akin to moonscapes.   

Intriguing rock formations aside, the park’s primary attractions are its large forests of the giant branching yuccas known as Joshua trees, the park’s namesake.  A unique member of the lily family, the Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) in this park are the southernmost stand of the species in California.  Joshua trees require elevations of 3,000 feet or above so most of the specimens in Joshua Tree National Park are in the Mojave region.  The trees were named by the Mormons in the 1850s; it is believed the many branches spreading up in all directions reminded them of the biblical Joshua, beckoning them to the Promised Land.  Other early travelers were far less impressed.  John Fremont, the well-known explorer, referred to Joshua trees as “. . . stiff, ungraceful . . . (and) the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom.” 

As with most things, natural and otherwise, beauty is in the eye of the beholder; so is inspiration—and Joshua Tree offers its own unique inspirations.