Information

Mojave National Preserve is a unit of the National Park System in the eastern Mojave Desert of  California.  It encompasses a varied landscape of about 1.6 million acres, ranging in elevation from around 900 feet at Soda Lake to almost 8000 feet at Clark Mountain.  The alkaline, usually dry lake and extensive flats of creosote bush contrast with shifting sand dunes and uplands populated by the fantastic forms of the Joshua tree.  Miles of geologically recent cinder cones and lava beds give an austerely volcanic look to one region within the preserve.  These, in turn, are overshadowed by numerous mountain ranges, some of which are lofty enough to be considered islands in the desert, with vegetation characteristic of less arid climates.

A diverse landscape hosts a diverse plant and wildlife population.  City dwellers may be surprised to learn that the deserts of the United States are typically far from barren, lifeless places, but instead are the habitat of hundreds of species, most especially adapted to existing in hot dry places.  Cactuses are, as you might guess, quite common, with several kinds of prickly pears and chollas being especially well represented, along with barrel cactus and hedgehog cactus.  But cactuses (or cacti, if you prefer to pluralize the word cactus in a manner true to its Latin root) are not the most abundant plant.  That honor must surely be bestowed upon the creosote bush, a generally drab, medium sized, olive green shrub which is the dominant plant in most of the preserve's flatter lands.  It has small, drought-resistant waxy leaves, which, however, become bright green and dense, and interspersed with numerous bright yellow flowers after a period of rain.  Along with the cactus, yuccas are probably the most noticed plants; although they have spine-tipped leaves, yuccas are not cactus at all, but are more closely related to lilies.  Joshua trees are a yucca, the largest one; and Mojave yuccas and banana yuccas are also plentiful.  Higher elevations are dominated by pinyons and junipers, and these small to medium-sized trees mark the region which is not true desert, though a part of the arid environment of the West.

Animal life in Mojave National Preserve has some expected desert residents, such as rattlesnakes.  The Mojave rattlesnake and desert sidewinder are two members of that much-too-feared clan, poisonous snakes that will defend themselves but have no particular interest in striking human beings if they can avoid it.  Perhaps the most famous desert animal is the desert tortoise, a large land turtle which can live for months without drinking water and which avoids the long hot summer by burrowing deep underground.  There are many other reptiles in the park: horned lizards, whiptails, chuckwallas, desert iguanas, side-blotched lizards; racers, gopher snakes, and boas.  They are all potentially on the menu of that also famous, usually ground-dwelling bird, the roadrunner.  Other birds include Gambel's quail, scrub jays and phainopeplas.  Prominent mammals include blacktail jackrabbits, coyote, kit foxes, antelope ground squirrels, bighorn sheep, and mountain lions.

Photos above copyright © by Gena Zolotar.

The area now included within preserve boundaries has a long and fascinating human history.  The earliest known peoples were the Chemehuevi (a sub-group of the Paiutes) and the Mohave.  The former were home in most of the region, but the dry lands were not conducive to settlement, and they were nomadic hunter-gatherers.  The Mohave resided along the Colorado River to the east and took advantage of the agricultural opportunities of well-watered  riverside flats, where they could live year-round.   But they were also familiar with the locations of the region's few springs and crossed the desert from the Colorado River to trade with coastal peoples, a 300-mile journey on foot.

When European and later Euro-American explorers visited the region, they were guided across by Native Americans.  The first of these was the Spanish priest Garcés who treated the native people respectfully and recorded a 1776 trip across the desert with their indispensable aid.  The trade route he used was followed and improved by the US Army in the 1860s, which established outposts to protect travellers from original inhabitants outraged by the incursions of the Euro-American outsiders and their depredations.  (The Mojave Road of today is pretty much the same route, and remains little improved.)  When railroads entered the region in the 1890s, it became possible to earn a living by mining and grazing livestock.  Lanfair Valley in the eastern part of today's preserve was fairly popular for homesteaders after the turn of the century, apparently made possible by an unusually wet period.  When more normally dry conditions returned, most of them moved away, but inholdings remaining in the families of the homesteaders still exist.

The preserve itself has an interesting history.  For centuries, people of European descent viewed deserts as vast wastelands, to be passed through, if at all, in a hurry.  But some began to see a potential living, even riches, in the mineral wealth of the land, and in the less lucrative art of grazing—perhaps attractive to those inspired by the mythology of American cowboy life, and willing to contend with its very real hardships.  Numerous mines brought to light such minerals as iron, silver, and gold, though few mines were profitable for long.  So at first, the large areas of desert in the American southwest engendered little concern for protection; for most, their value consisted of what sort of material goods they could provide.

As the nearby urban areas of Los Angeles and Las Vegas began to overflow with people, a new kind of use of the desert began, motorized recreation, where large tracts of unfenced public lands attracted off-road motorcyclists and four-wheel drive vehicles.  While most of these participants valued the landscape and openness of the desert, very few had the biological background to understand the extent of the destruction their vehicles were causing—for it is precisely because the desert is a harsh environment for life that it is easier to do it long-term damage.

Meanwhile, the desert began to gain widespread favor as a place to protect, visit, and enjoy by environmentalists in the 1960s and 70s.  Concern over seeing increasing numbers of off-road vehicles damage the plant and animal life of increasingly large areas (most notorious in an annual Barstow to Las Vegas motocycle race) led to the creation in 1980 of the East Mojave National Scenic Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  During that period, BLM, a multiple use agency, had not yet gained much confidence among conservationists that it would give enough weight to wildlands preservation values.  Greater protection was sought, and in 1986, California Senator Alan Cranston introduced the California Desert Protection Act, which, among other actions, would have transferred the BLM East Mojave NSA to the National Park Service and create a Mojave National Park.

But the administration of President Ronald Reagan was against park expansion, and the fact that for years afterwards, one of California's two Senators was also against the California Desert Protection Act, kept it from moving forward.  It was only after the Clinton administration took office, and the bill was reintroduced by California Senator Dianne Feinstein with many compromise amendments, that it passed in 1994.  One of the compromises was that the proposed Mojave National Park was made Mojave National Preserve, a designation allowing more economic uses.

Recreational activities in the preserve are a little more varied than in National Parks per se.  It is somewhat more restrictive than National Forest or BLM  lands, but less restrictive than in a National Park.  Most notably, limited hunting is allowed under state of California regulations, for specific game in season, and you have more liberty at where you can camp than in National Parks.  Some grazing operations continue, but most grazing leases have been retired.  Some mining continues, but under stricter standards.  Other than that, most National Park regulations and values apply, such as no target shooting, no off-road vehicle travel, collection of historic and prehistoric artifacts prohibited, plants and wildlife (other than game species) are protected and may not be collected or harmed.

Due to the long distances and dryness of the desert, most people get around the preserve primarily by motor vehicle, and paved roads and maintained dirt roads give you a good variety of terrain to see.  But since improved roads tend to avoid the more rugged areas, you really won't get a good feel for the mountain ranges unless you get out and hike.  Even a short stroll into the gentler terrain along the paved roads will enhance your sense of the area.  Areas which look monotonous when passing through at 40 or 50 miles per hour (or even at 20) can be amazingly interesting when you step out into them, let the quiet of the environment permeate your spirit, and observe the hidden gems of plant life and colorful rocks, perhaps a darting lizard, or a colorful caterpillar, a miniature rock garden of cactus, or tracks in the sand.

You won't find extensive tourist facilities like you see in more famous National Parks.  In fact, the plan is to keep development minimal, with no construction of lodges, camp stores, or museums foreseen.  Instead, the administration hopes to foster a sense of discovery with limited interpretive signs.  Visitors can get information at the Barstow headquarters office, at the Hole-in-the-Wall Information Center within the park, and at the newly renovated Kelso Depot—which now serves as the main visitor center for the park.  Lodging can be found outside the park, in Barstow, Baker, Nipton, and Ludlow.

For campers, there are two developed NPS campgrounds, both in the center of the park.  Hole-in-the-Wall Campground is at the end of the paved Black Canyon Road, and has nicely designed sites in among yuccas and cactus.  It is quite open, however, and you wouldn't want to stay there in the summer except to spend the night.  Offering somewhat more shade is Mid Hills Campground, farther up a graded dirt road and among pinyon and juniper.  Both campgrounds have drinking water, but only pit toilets.  Also within the bounds of the preserve, but administered by the State of California, Providence Mountains State Recreation Area has a small campground in front of the Mitchell Caverns parking lot.  A restroom nearby gives you the luxury of flush toilets (but no showers).

Outside the park, but right at the northern boundary, the small community of Nipton has a small campground in addition to offering tented cabin rentals, lodgings in the bed and breakfast, a cafe, and a trading post.

Text copyright © by Lee Dittmann.


This page created 23 September 2005; last revised 20 September 2008.


An unofficial website to celebrate the landscapes and life
of this eastern Mojave Desert region
This website created by Lee Dittmann of Mindbird Maps & Books, a Kingman, Arizona retail store.  You can help support the development and maintenance of this site with your purchases of maps, magnifiers, field notebooks, field guides, and much more from the Mindbird website.

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