where is the mojave desert

It (/moʊˈhɑːvi,mə-/ moh-HAH-vee, mə-; Mohave: Hayikwiir Mat’aar) is a xeric desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, with small portions extending into Arizona and Utah.

Along with the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin deserts, a larger North American Desert is formed. Of these, the Mojave is the smallest and driest. It is bordered to the west by the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the California montane chaparral and woodlands, and to the south and east by the Sonoran Desert, although the boundaries to the east of the it are less distinctive than the other boundaries as there is no distinctive presence of an indicator species, such as the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), which is endemic to this.

Sonoran desert

That is distinguished from the Sonoran Desert and other deserts adjacent to it by its warm temperate climate, as well as flora and fauna such as 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). With these other factors, the extent of these plants generally serves to differentiate the Mojave from the nearby Sonoran desert.

It displays typical basin and range topography, that is, generally having a pattern of a series of parallel mountain ranges and valleys. The Mojave Desert contains various silver, tungsten, iron and gold deposits. It is also the site of Death Valley, which is the lowest elevation in North America.

Hamakhaave

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; the word is a shortened form of Hamakhaave, their endonym in their native language, which means “beside the water”.

Conservation status

The Mojave Desert has a relatively stable and intact conservation status. In fact, the Mojave Desert is one of the best protected distinct ecoregions in the United States, as a result of the California Desert Protection Act, which established the Death Valley, Joshua Tree National Parks and the Mojave National Preserve. However, the southwest and central east portions of the Mojave Desert are particularly threatened as a result of off-road vehicles, human development, and agricultural grazing. The World Wildlife Fund lists the Mojave Desert as relatively “stable/intact.”

Human development

In recent years, human development in the Mojave desert has become increasingly present. Human development at the major urban and suburban centers of Las Vegas and Los Angeles has had an increasingly damaging effect on the wildlife of that. An added demand for landfill space as a result of the large metropolitan centers of Las Vegas and Los Angeles also has the real potential to drastically affect the flora and fauna of the Mojave Desert.

Agricultural development along the Colorado river, which is close to the Eastern boundary of this desert also causes habitat loss and degradation. Areas that are particularly affected by human development include Ward Valley and Riverside country. The United States military also maintains installations in the Mojave Desert. Thus, the Mojave is a critical training location for the United States Department of Defense.

Joshua Tree National Park

The intermittent Mojave River flows predominantly underground to Soda Lake. Cattle grazing is common in the northern portion of it, while the southwestern part, adjacent to Los Angeles, has undergone urban and recreational development. Several U.S. military installations and Joshua Tree National Park are located there. Las Vegas, Nevada, and Lancaster, Victorville, Mojave, and Barstow, California, are the chief towns.

Tehachapi Mountains

Tehachapi Mountains, segment of the Coast Ranges (see Pacific mountain system), south-central California, U.S. They extend for about 50 miles (80 km) and link the south end of the Sierra Nevada with the mountains along the coast. Elevations in the Tehachapi Mountains average about 8,000 feet (2,400 metres).

Clay mining and agriculture, including fruit growing, are the main economic activities. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail runs along the mountains. The city of Tehachapi, located east-southeast of Bakersfield, is a mountain community with an ostrich ranch, wind farms, and botanical gardens.

Soda Lake

Soda Lake, also called Soda Dry Lake, dry lake in San Bernardino county, southern California, U.S. Situated in the Mojave Desert, Soda Lake is part of what remains of the ancient Ice Age Lake Mojave. The water in Soda Lake quickly dries, leaving alkaline evaporites (including sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate).

Where is the Mojave Desert?

A majority of the Mojave Desert is located in southeastern California and southern Nevada, with smaller portions in Utah and Arizona.

What is the Mojave Desert famous for?

It is famous for having the hottest air temperature and surface temperature recorded on earth and the lowest elevation in North America.

Furnace Creek, located in Death Valley, recorded 134 F (56.7 C) on July 10th, 2013.

Badwater Basin, located in Death Valley, is the lowest elevation in the United States. At its lowest point, Badwater Basin measures 279 feet (85 m) below sea level.

Dust Devil in the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

Where is the Mojave Desert?

A majority of it is located in southeastern California and southern Nevada, with smaller portions in Utah and Arizona.

It Desert is situated in a transitional zone between the Great Basin Desert to the north and the Sonoran Desert to the south (mainly between 34 and 38°N latitudes).It , a rain-shadow desert, is defined by a combination of latitude, elevation, geology, and indicator plants.

What is the Mojave Desert famous for?

It is famous for having the hottest air temperature and surface temperature recorded on earth and the lowest elevation in North America.

Furnace Creek, located in Death Valley, recorded 134 F (56.7 C) on July 10th, 2013.

Badwater Basin, located in Death Valley, is the lowest elevation in the United States. At its lowest point, Badwater Basin measures 279 feet (85 m) below sea level.

Dust Devil in the Mojave Desert

This desert has a typical mountain-and-basin topography with sparse vegetation.  Silver, tungsten, gold and iron deposits are also present in this.

Elevations are generally between three and six thousand feet, although Death Valley National Park includes both 11,049-foot Telescope Peak and the lowest point in the United States, 282 feet below sea level, at Badwater Basin.

Weather in the Mojave Desert

Temperatures are a function of both latitude and altitude. Although It has the lowest absolute elevation and the highest maximum temperature (134°F in Death Valley), it is north of the Sonoran Desert and its average elevations are higher. As a result, its average temperatures are lower than those of the Sonoran Desert.

Plants in the Mojave Desert

Occasional catclaws grow along arroyos. But, unlike the Sonoran Desert, trees are few, both in numbers and diversity in it. The exception is the Joshua tree.

This desert hosts about 200 endemic plant species found in neither of the adjacent deserts. It yucca and, at higher elevations desert Spanish bayonet, a narrow-leafed yucca, are prominent. Creosote bush, shadscale, big sagebrush, bladder-sage, bursages and blackbush are common shrubs of the this desert.

Animals in the Mojave Desert

A few examples of desert animals that live in the this desert include: bats, bighorn sheep, coyotes, black-tailed jack rabbits, foxes, rattlesnakes, and chukwallas.

Its northern and eastern boundaries are less distinct. One way to determine location is by observing the presence of Joshua Trees.

120F

It receives less than 6 inches of rain a year and is generally between 3,000 and 6,000 feet in elevation. It also contains the Mojave National Preserve, Joshua Tree National Park and the lowest-hottest place in North America. Death Valley, where the temperature can approach 120F in late July and early August.

Snow, although uncommon, does fall in parts of the Mojave. The coldest wintertime temperature ranges below freezing yet above 0F. Many parts of the Mojave typically range from highs of around 95-105F in the summer to lows of around 20-30F in the winter.

Above 50 miles per hour

High winds, often above 50 miles per hour, are also a weather factor. And occur frequently along the western end of the Mojave, and are less common toward the east.

This desert contains a number of ghost towns. The most well known of these being the silver-mining town of Calico, California. Among the more popular and unique tourist attractions in the Mojave is the self-described World’s Largest Thermometer at 134 feet high. Reportedly also the highest temperature ever recorded in the region located along Interstate 15 in Baker, California.

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