A large part of Southern California is desert. And much of the rest of Southern California is “semi-arid.” Even though the area gets more rainfall than an actual desert, it cannot support a large human population without importing substantial amounts of water from elsewhere. The entire densely-populated region stretching from Santa Barbara in the north through Los Angeles to San Diego in the south is all too frequently subject to severe droughts. It depends on major engineering projects that divert water from the eastern Sierra Nevada region and the Colorado River.
Two particular areas of this large desert region are national parks that offer unique geology and biology (and scenery). They are Joshua Tree, in the southern desert north of Palm Springs, and Death Valley, located in eastern part of the state near the Nevada border (a small part of the park is in Nevada).
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Perhaps a better name for Joshua Tree National Park might be “Joshua
Trees and Rocks National Park.” Those two features define the entire
area.
Even though the “joshua tree” has a woody trunk, it isn’t a tree at
all. It’s actually a kind of yucca that’s related to the lily. Mormon
pioneers, steeped in Biblical lore, saw them throughout their journeys
in the Southwestern desert and thought they resembled Joshua praying
with outstretched arms, leading them to the Promised Land.
The frequent earthquakes in the Joshua Tree area mean the park is full
of rocks. The rocks and boulders come in all sizes, ranging from large
ones that are popular for climbing to shattered and broken ones that
lie in piles or are strewn on the ground. There are also boulders
balanced so precariously that you have to wonder how they survived all
the earthquakes.
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There are other interesting plants besides the joshua trees.
The cholla (pronounced “CHOY-a”) is a kind of cactus
that may look cute and cuddly. It’s sometimes even called the “teddy
bear cactus.” But it’s anything but cuddly. In fact, it bites! The
“fur” is actually very prickly spines with little barbs at the end.
Get anywhere near one with your hand, or even with a clothed arm or
leg, and the little barbs will attach themselves painfully to your
flesh. Cholla barbs get into inappropriate places so easily that the
other name for the cholla is the “jumping cactus,” since it almost
seems to jump right for the nearest limb. It’s obviously a very
effective defense mechanism against rodents or lizards who might want
a succulent snack. When taking these pictures, I was very careful to
avoid touching the cholla. But somehow a little cluster jumped onto
the bottom of my camera bag. Removing it required a thick wad of
newspaper.
At left is an ocotillo (“oak-o-TEE-yo”) in bloom. It’s another kind
of cactus with leaves that are small and tough (to minimize evaporation of
water into the dry air) but, fortunately, not sharp. This particular
ocotillo is in Anza-Borrego State Park, a bit south of Joshua
Tree.
The Coachella Valley, south of Joshua Tree, is a major producer of
dates. At right is a cultivated stand of date palms, in Mecca. You can
see how the fruit grows in clusters on the palms. As far as I can tell,
the Mecca in California in no way resembles its Arabian namesake. So my
visit there does not entitle me to the honorific title of “Haji.” There
was, however, a pillar of fire guiding me toward Mecca. It was smoke
from an incineration facility that was burning tires. A local culinary
specialty is the “date shake,” a vanilla milkshake to which a
puréed paste of dates is added. It tastes very good indeed.
At the southern end of the Coachella Valley, the Salton Sea was created
by accident around 1905, when poorly-built irrigation channels flooded
an ancient basin. It’s the largest lake in California, 57 kilometers
long and 24 kilometers wide. The surface is 69 meters below sea level.
Like Mono Lake in northern California,
the Salton Sea has no outlets, so it is becoming increasingly salty (it
is now slightly saltier than the ocean). It’s also a migratory bird
sanctuary as well as a popular boating recreation area. Unlike Mono
Lake, some 90% of the Salton Sea’s water comes from agricultural runoff.
The pesticides and heavy metals in this runoff make the lake
controversial for environmentalists. On a hot May weekday, I found the
Salton Sea a rather desolate and strangely alien setting.
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