The Mojave Desert:
I have always had a unique fascination for the desert. There is just something about that stark, perilous ecosystem I find enthralling. From the wastelands of Iraq to the rocky wilderness regions of the Hindu Kush mountains in northeastern Afghanistan, they provided a welcoming solitude with a breathtaking silence. So, after several years exploring the Sonoran Desert, the Colorado Plateau, and the Great Basin of the southwestern United States—I thought it was time to return to the Mojave. My first trip to the Mojave was in January 2017, focusing primarily on Death Valley. Although I had limited time, I knew I had to return on a more extensive trip; after five years, I finally completed a twelve-day solo expedition, crossing the region from south to north, in early March 2022.
Yucca Brevifolia is a plant species belonging to the genus Yucca. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. The tree is native to the arid Southwestern United States, particularly California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. It is mainly confined to the Mojave Desert between 1,300 and 5,900 feet in elevation and thrives in the open grasslands of Queen Valley and Lost Horse Valley in Joshua Tree National Park. In addition, massive populations can be found northeast of Kingman, Arizona. And, along U.S. 93 between the towns of Wickenburg and Wikieup, a route designated the Joshua Tree Parkway of Arizona. A dense Joshua tree forest also existed on the Cima Dome in the Mojave National Preserve until the Dome fire of August 2020.
Located essentially in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, under the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it takes its name from the 'Mojave,' an indigenous regional people. Though small compared to other deserts within the United States (43,750 square miles), the Mojave is an arid transitional zone that separates the Great Basin to the north, the Sierra Nevada to the west, the Sonoran Desert to the southeast, and the Colorado Plateau to the south. Due to these extraordinary atmospheric conditions, the Mojave, on average, receives less than 5 inches of precipitation a year, falling as rain or snow between November and April. This unique climatological intersection has resulted in the hottest surface temperature recorded on Earth.
Yucca Brevifolia, the Joshua Tree, at dawn, silhouetted against Jumbo Rocks at Joshua Tree National Park.
A view north along Kelbaker Road in Essex, California, driving north through the Mojave National Preserve. Mojave National Preserve spans woodland, rugged mountains, and canyons. It is one of the largest national preserves within the continental US and a great place to experience the great outdoors in its most feral, unfiltered form.
On July 10, 1913, Furnace Creek, Death Valley, recorded a daytime high of 134°F. While researching that fact, I discovered meteorological records showing that on September 13, 1922, a temperature of 136°F was recorded at El Azizia, Libya, and was certified by the World Meteorological Organization as the hottest air temperature ever recorded. However, after digging further, I found that after a scientific dispute that lasted 90 years and after reviewing new evidence that had come to light, on September 12, 2012, the World Meteorological Organization officially certified the 1913 Death Valley reading (134°F) as the all-time highest surface air temperature recorded on the planet. Additionally, the area's second record, located in Death Valley, Badwater Basin, is the lowest elevation in North America at 279 feet below sea level.
Death Valley National Park is the hottest and driest National Park in the United States, which aptly describes California, a name translated from Spanish, meaning a glowing furnace. The valley is an inner mountain basin, and as mentioned, this superheated gorge is 279 feet below sea level. In the summer, the air temperature never drops below 105°F. The sands are heated from 185 up to 200°F. Flies do not fly here; they crawl to avoid singeing their wings, and lizards are often seen rolling onto their backs to cool their burnt feet. For this reason, I planned this incredible journey for March when the temperatures were more favorable.
Ever since the story of the 'Lost 49ers' back in 1849, Death Valley has held a mystery all to itself; its name stirs the imagination and evokes conflicting emotions. That year, a group of prospectors headed into the valley searching for gold; they became disoriented and lost, wandering for several months and suffering from hunger and thirst. Although the group only lost one person, legend has it that when the party found their way out of the valley, one of the 49ers, looking down from the mountain, exclaimed, "Goodbye, Death Valley."
Death Valley National Park is enormous, covering 3.4 million acres. Yet, it's versatile, and this diversity and harsh conditions attract many travelers seeking to prove to themselves and others that they can survive these challenges. As for me, I found another reason: solitude! To enjoy the peace and harmony of my own company, take in the magnificence of these incredible alien landscapes, and experience firsthand the extraordinary manifestations of nature.
There is a certain simplicity in a landscape from which the water element is absent, with all the varied life it carries. The desert constantly invokes vast expanses of distant horizons and timeless space and beauty. I often come here when I have feelings of self-importance—to reconnect with the forces of nature—and to put things back into perspective. One of the attractions of being alone in the desert and visualizing these vast, foreboding landscapes is how infinitely small we all are. In an environment that removes, as it does, nearly all the supplements of life, we can visualize the thin thread of necessities on which human existence is suspended.
The Wall Street Mill in Joshua Tree National Park was a complete and operable gold ore crushing mill featuring late-19th century two-stamp mill machinery. The site encompasses the mill machinery, the building which houses it, the well which supplied water for its operation, and the well pump. It is the only gold ore crushing mill in the region that retains integrity. The stamp mill building is framed with heavy timber and built on a downward sloping hillside to take advantage of gravity in the milling process. The roof and some exterior walls are covered with corrugated sheet metal, while other exterior walls have either vertical or horizontal wooden siding. At the top of the building, a wooden ramp supports the track of an ore tramway which carried ore from where it was unloaded from trucks to the top of the mill above a 'Baker Iron Works' two-stamp crusher.
Machinery produced by the 'Baker Iron Works: ‘The two-stamp crusher.’
Lady Desert - The Venus of Nevada: A statue of a kneeling woman made of pink & yellow cinder blocks, created in 1992 by Hugo Heyrman. The Goldwell Open Air Museum is an outdoor sculpture park near the ghost town of Rhyolite in the U.S. state of Nevada. The 7.8-acre site is located at the northern end of the Amargosa Valley, about 4 miles west of Beatty, Nevada, off State Route 374.
An abandoned, crashed, light aircraft on the property once known as Angels Ladies, a 5,000 square-foot legal brothel situated on a 70-acre ranch located three miles north of Beatty, Nevada. It was known as Fran's Star Ranch until it was renamed Angel's Ladies in 1997 after being purchased by Mack and Angel Moore. It closed in August 2014.
A crashed light aircraft on the Angels Ladies ranch.
Dante's View, a viewpoint terrace at 5,476 feet, on the north side of Coffin Peak, along the crest of the Black Mountains, part of the Amargosa Range, overlooking Death Valley. The viewpoint takes its name from Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet, writer, and philosopher who wrote the 'Divina Commedia' (Divine Comedy). The scenery from the top of the Black Mountains is considered one of Death Valley's best viewpoints. Unfortunately, the haze in the distance is pollution blowing in from Los Angeles.
The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes of Death Valley National Park are excellent nature study and recreation places. All of the dunes in Death Valley National Park are protected as wilderness; off-road vehicle travel is not permitted anywhere. Less than one percent of the desert is covered with dunes, yet the shadowed ripples and stark, graceful curves define the desert in our imaginations. For dunes to exist, there must be a source of sand, prevailing winds to move the sand, and a place for the sand to collect. The eroded canyons and washes provide plenty of sand, the wind always seems to blow (especially in the springtime), but there are only a few areas in the park where the sand is trapped by geographic features such as mountains.
Within the area of Death Valley, known as the Artist's Palette, repeated volcanic eruptions blanketed the landscape more than five million years ago, depositing ash and minerals. The volcanic minerals were chemically altered by heat and water, with variable amounts of oxygen and other introduced elements. As a result, chemical analyses have identified a paint pot of elements: iron, aluminum, magnesium, and titanium, but no copper. Some of the colored minerals here include red hematite and green chlorite; this is truly a natural palette of color splashed across the landscape. But, of course, the time of day, clouds, and the rare rainfall shift the intensity of color.
Moonrise over Artists Palette, Death Valley, California.
Desert daisies grow in this harsh environment, pushing skyward from the desert floor. Helianthus Annuus is part of the sunflower family, an annual plant with a sizeable daisy-like flower face. Helianthus is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae. Except for three South American species, the species of Helianthus are native to North America and Central America.
The Yucca Brevifolia, the Joshua Tree.
Highway 190 West, Death Valley, California.
Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms, California.
Goldfield, Nevada: Longtime Goldfield resident Mark Rippie created the International Car Forest of the Last Church; his vision was to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s most extensive car forest. He was later joined by artists Chad Sort and Zak Sargent, and the three set to work, burying the noses of more than 40 vehicles.
The International Car Forest of the Last Church, Goldfield, Nevada.
The International Car Forest.
A vintage vehicle (possibly an old Ford) lays abandoned in Nelson Ghost Town, in Eldorado Canyon, Nevada. The town of Nelson was initially discovered and named Eldorado in 1775 by the Spaniards, who made the original discoveries of gold in this area, now called Eldorado Canyon. A hundred years later, prospectors and miners moved into the canyon and established the notorious Techatticup Mine. Disagreements over ownership, management, and labor disputes resulted in wanton killings that became routine. Yet, despite the sinister reputation of the mine, it, along with others in the town, produced several million dollars in gold, silver, copper, and lead.