Joshua Tree National Park Research Paper

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Joshua Tree National Park is a huge 800,000 acre U.S. National Park that hosts a vast array of wildlife and cultural significance. It has been inhabited for about 5,000 years beginning with the Pinto culture. Joshua Tree is the combination of two desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado. Therefore, this brings about a large mix of wildlife in the park that are found in both the deserts. Interestingly the Joshua Tree is only found on the Mojave Desert side of the park because of the climate, which is of a higher elevation thus making it cooler and wetter than the Colorado Desert side. Another fascinating part of Joshua Tree National Park is the rock formation and how they actually formed in these amazing shapes. Many geologists believe…show more content…
The Joshua Tree was seen as a very useful plant by the Indians mainly because the “tough leaves were worked into baskets and sandals and the flower buds and raw or roasted seeds made a healthy addition to the diet.” (Jane Rodgers, No Date Given). It is very evident, therefore, that the Joshua Tree was a very useful plant for the native people. One interesting fact about the Joshua Tree is that scientists cannot judge the age of a particular Joshua Tree because it does not have any growth rings on it like many other trees do. Due to the fact that Joshua Trees need the perfect environment to thrive it is no wonder that they are being ravaged due to the severe drought on the western United States. The Joshua Tree is not the only plant that is severely affected by the drought on the western United States: “The recent drought that persisted for several years throughout western North America caused widespread mortality of other desert species including Ambrosia dumosa, Sphaeralcea ambigua, and Eriogonum fasciculatum in the Colorado Desert; A. dumosa and Larrea tridentata in the eastern Mojave Desert.” (Leslie DeFalco, Todd Esque, Sara Scoles-Sciulla and Jane Rogers, 27 January 2009). So as you can see the harsh weather conditions are a huge factor in the destruction of these plants. Also due to the dry and arid weather conditions wildfires occur and they are also a huge reason for Joshua Trees being destroyed in the area: “Five years after the Juniper Fire Complex of May 1999, approximately 80% of burned Y. brevifolia died compared with 26% in adjacent unburned sites.” (Leslie DeFalco, Todd Esque, Sara Scoles-Sciulla and Jane Rogers, 27 January 2009). There a huge problem that is happening in Joshua Tree Park because the signature plant is dying because of severe weather conditions, natural causes and they are also being eaten by
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