Joshua Tree NP - Key's View

Key's View is located on the crest of the Little San Bernardino Mountains, The southwest side of the ridge (shown in the photos below) drops nearly a mile in elevation into the Coachella Valley. The San Andreas Fault, stretching 700 miles from the Gulf of California to the Mendocino Coast north of San Francisco, runs through the valley. On rare clear days, one can see the Salton Sea and all the way to Mexico. However, pollution is now common, as it was on the day we were there, and these views are usually obscured. 

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Image of the Day on Tortoise Trail Images: Hummingbird on Penstemon

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Joshua Tree NP - Yucca

2007-03-23. There are many different yuccas in addition to the Yucca Brevifolia (Joshua Tree) living in Joshua Tree National Park. Here are some I photographed. If anyone is willing to identify them for me, I'd be most appreciative.

These golden-bloomed plants were in Hidden Valley.


These plants were in Indian Cove.

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Image of the Day: Damsel Fly on Agave Leaf Tip

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Joshua Tree NP - Rock Formations - Southern Section

2008-3-24. Our last day in the park. The southern section of Joshua Tree National Park also had some spectacular rock formations, although they differed in character from those in the north. We took a short walk past the campground

to view some interesting features. 

Joshua Tree NP - Cottonwood Wash

From Cottonwood Springs Oasis, my cousins and I walked past a second oasis down Cottonwood Wash

to the head of a dry falls.

We followed the old (and somewhat precarious) teamster road around the falls to the lower wash, 

and then walked back to where we could see the dry falls from below. (In wet years, the falls can become a scene of rushing water and red-spotted toads. Bighorn sheep often come up the wash for water in the early hours. [nps.gov])

Joshua Tree NP - Mara Oasis and Cottonwood Spring

The desert fan palm, Washingtonia filifera, is native to the low hot deserts of southern California where it can live for 80 to 90 years. Towering up to 75 feet, the desert fan palm is among the tallest of North American palms. It is definitely the heaviest; a mature desert fan palm can weigh as much as three tons. Its distinctive leaves are shaped like a fan and folded like an accordion. They measure up to six feet in length and are nearly as wide. Looking much like "petticoats," the fan palm’s dead leaves remain attached to its trunk until removed by fire, wind, or flood. [

There are 158 desert fan palm oases in North America. Five of these are located in Joshua Tree NP.

On our first day in the park, the four of us visited the most accessible one: the Oasis of Mara, which lies next to the visitor center and entrance at the northeast entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. (Later that day, my younger and fitter cousins hiked to one of the more spectacular ones: 49 Palms.) The oasis was first settled by the Serrano Indians who called it Mara, meaning “the place of little springs and much grass.” The Serrano planted 29 desert fan palms during their first year there. The palms provided the Serrano with food, clothing, cooking implements, and housing. In addition, the palms are habitat for a wide variety of desert creatures.

On our last day in the park, we visited Cottonwood Spring Oasis, at the south end. The spring, the result of earthquake activity, was used for centuries by the Cahuilla Indians, who left bedrock mortars and clay pots, or ollas, in the area. Cottonwood Spring was an important water stop for prospectors, miners, and teamsters traveling from Mecca to mines in the north. Water was necessary for gold processing, so a number of gold mills were located here. Cottonwood Spring was first mentioned in a gold mine claim filed in 1875, indicating that the [cottonwood] trees are native. Fan palms first appear around 1920, perhaps growing from seeds deposited by a bird or coyote.

Information from nps.gov - JTNP-Desert Fan Palm Oases]

Joshua Tree NP - A Little Bit of Wildlife

There's a large variety of birds, reptiles and mammals reputed to live in Joshua Tree NP. However, I couldn't get close enough to any of the birds to get any decent photographs, I saw very few mammals, and - surprisingly - very few reptiles in our visits. In addition to the Desert Tortoise I found in the patio of our cabin, I did spot a couple of Desert Cottontails in two different locations,
a Rock Squirrel at the picnic ground at Hidden Valley, moving too fast to focus on,and the habitat of some desert rodents (possibly Kangaroo Rats or Pocket Mice) in Indian Cove.
A hummingbird, high on a thorny branch showed just a bit of gorget,and this sweet bird was posing handsomely on a Joshua Tree, but I couldn't get close enough to see what it was.

Joshua Tree NP - Joshua Trees in Bloom

The blooming cycle of the Joshua Tree is totally dependent on climatic conditions. Depending on the timing and intensity of winter rains, blossoming can occur any time from March to May, and can vary from very sparse to a rare abundance of blossoms in relative wet years. We were fortunate to be there in a good blooming year.

The flowers begin as greenish buds clustered near the end of the branches. The six tepals (3 petals and 3 similar sepals) then open up, to reveal a pod-like ovary, surrounded by six stamens, with one pistil. The flowers are waxy, white-to-greenish-white, and 2-3 inches long (5-7 cm). The flowers emit a sweet fragrance reminiscent of coconut.




PROPAGATION
The Joshua Tree pollen is so sticky that it cannot be carried by the wind. Pollination is accomplished only with the help of the tiny Yucca moth, with which this species has evolved a symbiotic relationship. This moth (Pronuba yuccasella) collects the pollen from a number of flowers and then chooses one flower as a home for its offspring. It deposits the pollen on the flower’s stigma in the process of laying eggs in the flower’s ovary. The newly hatched larvae will feed on the seeds (consuming only about 20 out of 200 in each ovary).

After the Joshua Tree flower is pollinated, the ovary swells with seeds and the flower falls away. The ripened fruit then falls to the ground where the seeds are scattered, often taken up by the wind. Very few will be able to germinate in the harsh desert conditions, but it is by this process of seed propagation that the new plant colonies are established. 

The Joshua Tree can also propagate by shoots from its roots or crown, and this is particularly important when the upper part of the tree is destroyed by fire.

Information for this post was taken from a variety of online sources: Flower Essence Society, Joshua Tree NP Info Page, Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee, Graeme Somerville: The Biogeography of The Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia).

Joshua Tree NP - Joshua Trees-1

Joshua Tree National Park is named for the abundance of Joshua Trees that grow there. This spectacular plant has become the symbol of the Mojave Desert. The name came from 19th century Mormon settlers: the uplifted branches of the trees reminded them of Joshua, the biblical Israelite leader, praying and pointing to the heavens.

There are two varieties of Joshua Trees. The ones we saw growing in the western and southern Mojave Desert are Yucca brevifolia herbetti. These are the largest trees, have relatively long leaves and branch only after they have flowered. (The other variety is Yucca brevifolia jaegeriana, which grows in the eastern Mojave Desert.)Joshua trees can grow from seed or from an underground rhizome of another Joshua tree. They are slow growers; new seedlings may reach a height of 10-20 cm in their first few years, then only grow about 10 cm per year thereafter. The trunk of a Joshua tree is made of thousands of small fibers and lacks annual growth rings, making it difficult to determine the tree's age. Because of their shallow root area and top-heavy branch system, Joshua trees are not very sturdy, but if they survive the rigors of the desert, they can grow as tall as 15 m and can live for two hundred years. One specimen in the park is about 12 m (40 feet) tall and is estimated to be 300 years old.
Serrano, Chemehuevi and Cahuilla Indians who have lived in the area for over four hundred years still identify the Joshua Tree as a valuable resource. Their elders call it “hunuvat chiy’a” or “humwichawa”. Their ancestors used the leaves of Y. brevifolia to weave sandals and baskets in addition to harvesting the seeds and flower buds for nutritious meals. In the nineteenth century, ranchers and miners arrived in the high desert concurrently with the Mormons. They hoped to raise cattle and mine gold. These homesteaders used the Joshua tree’s limbs and trunks for fencing and corrals. Miners used Joshua Trees as a source of fuel for the steam engines used in processing ore.
Information for this post was taken from a variety of online sources: nps.gov-Joshua Tree, Joshua Tree NP Info Page, Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee, Graeme Somerville: The Biogeography of The Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia).

Joshua Tree NP - Rock Formations - Northern Section

"Two deserts, two large ecosystems whose characteristics are determined primarily by elevation, come together at Joshua Tree National Park. Below 3,000 feet, the Colorado Desert encompasses the eastern part of the park and features natural gardens of creosote bush, ocotillo, and cholla cactus. The higher, moister, and slightly cooler Mojave Desert is the special habitat of the Joshua tree. Joshua tree forests occur in the western half of the park. The western part of the park also includes some of the most interesting geologic displays found in California's deserts. In addition, five fan palm oases dot the park, indicating those few areas where water occurs naturally and where wildlife abounds." [US Parks - about.com]

We spent almost three days in the less familiar higher Mojave Desert section. I could have spent weeks there, it was so fascinating. I took hundreds of photos. The geology of the area was extraordinary.





There are more photos of rock formations in Joshua Tree National Park on my flickr site. They're best viewed as a slide show. There are a lot of them, but some of the formations are so interesting that I believe its worth the time.