Two deserts, two large ecosystems primarily determined by elevation, come together at Joshua Tree National Park. Few areas more vividly illustrate the contrast between high and low desert. Below 910 meters (3000 feet), the Colorado Desert, occupying the eastern half of the park, is dominated by the abundant creosote bush. Adding interest to this arid land are small stands of spidery ocotillo and jumping Cholla cactus. The higher, slightly cooler, and wetter Mojave Desert is the special habitat of the undisciplined Joshua tree, extensive stands of which occur throughout the western half of the park. Standing like an island in a desolate sea, the oases, a third ecosystem, provide dramatic contrast to their arid surroundings. Five fan palm oases dot the park, indicating those few areas where water occurs naturally at or near the surface, meeting the special life requirements of these stately trees. Oases once serving earlier desert visitors now abound in wildlife.

     The park encompasses some of the most interesting geologic displays found in California's deserts. Rugged mountains of twisted rock and exposed granite monoliths testify to the tremendous earth forces that shaped and formed this land. Arroyos, playas, alluvial fans, bajadas, pediments, desert varnish, granites, aplite, and gneiss interact to form a giant desert mosaic of immense beauty and complexity.

     As old as the desert may look, it is but a temporary phenomenon in the incomprehensible time-scale of geology. In more verdant times, one of the Southwest's earliest inhabitants, Pinto Man, lived here, hunting and gathering along a slow moving river that ran through the now dry Pinto Basin. Later, Indians traveled through this area in tune with harvests of pinion nuts, mesquite beans, acorns, and cactus fruit, leaving behind rock paintings and pottery ollas as reminders of their passing. In the late 1800s explorers, cattlemen, and miners came to the desert. They built dams to create water tanks and dug up and tunneled the earth in search of gold. They are gone now, and left behind are their remnants, the Lost Horse and Desert Queen Mines and the Desert Queen Ranch. In the 1930s homesteaders came seeking free land and the chance to start new lives. Today many people come to the park's more than 200,000 hectares [half million acres) of open space seeking clear skies and clean air, and the peace and tranquility, the quietude and beauty, only deserts offer.

     The life force is patient here. Desert vegetation, often times appearing to have succumbed to a sometimes harsh and unforgiving environment, lies dormant, anxiously awaiting the rainfall and moderate weather that will trigger its growth, painting the park a profusion of colors. At the edges of daylight and under clear night stars is a fascinating multitude of generally unfamiliar desert wildlife. Waiting out daytime heat, these creatures run, hop, crawl, and burrow in the slow rhythm of desert life. Under bright sun and blue sky, bighorn sheep and golden eagles add an air of unconcerned majesty to this land.

     The desert. Some think it wretched and seemingly useless. For all its harshness the desert is a land of surprising variety and complexity, a land of extreme fragility. Today's moment of carelessness may leave lasting scars or disrupt an intricate system of life that has existed for eons. Viewed from the roadside, the desert only hints at its hidden vitality. To the close observer, however, a tiny flower bud or the lizard's frantic dash reveals Joshua Tree National Park as a place of beauty and life. Take your time as you travel through this area. Joshua Tree National Park provides a space for finding freedom from everyday routines, space for self-discovery, and a refuge for the human spirit. Let the desert take hold of you.