Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (/moʊˈhɑːvi, mə-/;[3][4][5] Mohave: Hayikwiir Mat'aar;[6] Spanish: Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States.[7][2] Named for the indigenous Mohave people, it is located primarily in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, with small portions extending into Arizona and Utah.[8][2]
Mojave Desert
Hayyikwiir Mat'aar (Mohave)
Desierto de Mojave (Spanish)
230[1]
98[1]
81,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi)
United States
Cold desert (BWk) and hot desert (BWh)
Relatively Stable/Intact[2]
The Mojave Desert, together with the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin deserts, form a larger North American Desert. Of these, the Mojave is the smallest and driest. It displays typical basin and range topography, generally having a pattern of a series of parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is also the site of Death Valley, which is the lowest elevation in North America. The Mojave Desert is often colloquially called the "high desert", as most of it lies between 2,000 and 4,000 feet (610 and 1,220 m). It supports a diversity of flora and fauna.
The 54,000 sq mi (140,000 km2) desert supports a number of human activities, including recreation, ranching, and military training.[9] The Mojave Desert also contains various silver, tungsten, iron and gold deposits.[10]: 124
The spelling Mojave originates from the Spanish language, while the spelling Mohave comes from modern English. Both are used today, although the Mojave Tribal Nation officially uses the spelling Mojave. Mojave is a shortened form of Hamakhaave, an endonym in their native language, which means "beside the water".[11]
Ecology[edit]
Flora[edit]
The flora of the Mojave Desert consists of various endemic plant species, notably the Joshua Tree, which is a notable endemic and indicator species of the desert. There is more endemic flora in the Mojave Desert than almost anywhere in the world.[2] Mojave Desert flora is not a vegetation type, although the plants in the area have evolved in isolation because of the physical barriers of the Sierra Nevadas and the Colorado Plateau. Predominant plants of the Mojave Desert include all-scale (Atriplex polycarpa), creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), desert holly (Atriplex hymenelytra), white burrobush (Hymenoclea salsola), and most notably, the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia). Additionally, the Mojave Desert is also home to various species of cacti, such as silver cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa), Mojave prickly pear (O. erinacea), beavertail cactus (O. basilaris), and many-headed barrel cactus (Echinocactus polycephalus). Less common but distinctive plants of the Mojave Desert include ironwood (Olneya tesota), blue Palo Verde (Parkinsonia Florida), chuparosa (Justicia californica), spiny menodora (Menodora spinescens), desert senna (Cassia armata), California dalea (Psorothamnus arborescens), and goldenhead (Acamptopappus shockleyi). The Mojave Desert is generally abundant in winter annuals.[13]: 11 The plants of the Mojave Desert each generally correspond to an individual geographic feature. As such, there are distinctive flora communities within the desert.
In society[edit]
History[edit]
Before the European colonization of North America, tribes of Native Americans, such as the Mohave, were hunter-gatherers living in the Mojave Desert.[31]
European explorers started exploring the deserts beginning in the 18th century. Francisco Garcés, a Franciscan friar, was the first explorer of the Mojave Desert in 1776.[32] Garcés recorded information about the original inhabitants of the deserts.
Later, as American interests expanded into California, American explorers started probing the California deserts. Jedediah Smith travelled through the Mojave Desert in 1826, finally reaching the San Gabriel Mission.[33][34]