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Mojave Desert
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Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert is a xeric desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States.
Characteristics
The Mojave Desert has a warm-temperate climate and it is hot, arid and clear in the summer and the winter is long, cold, and partly cloudy. In lower areas, the precipitation ranges from 3.5 inches to nearly 10 inches in the mountatins. The dunes encompass a massive 45 square miles with the tallest dune reaching about 650 feet. The Mojave Desert is spread across 4 states in the United States. It spans over California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. It takes up 20 million acres - about one-fifth of the state.
Characteristics
Plant Life
There are many plants in the mojave desert, like a Joshua Tree, a Creosote, a white fir, and a juniper. While the white fir and juniper are found at higher elevations, the joshua tree and creosote are found at lower elevations.
Plant Life
White Fir and Creosote
White Fir
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Creosote
The creosote has a deep tap root, a shallow root system, and wax-coated leaves that close their pores during the day to avoid loss of water.
The white fir overtops the shrubs which for the most part are shaded out and die.
Joshua Tree and Juniper
Joshua Tree
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Juniper
The juniper tree has a massive underground root system which can account for two-thirds of a tree's total mass.
As protection from predation, Joshua Trees often germinate under nurse plants until the age of four years.
Animal Life
There are many, many animals in the Mojave Desert. Four of my favoratie animals are the Bighorn Sheep, Greater Roadrunner, Desert Pupfish, and the Burrowing Owls.
Animal Life
Bighorn Sheep and Great Roadrunner
Bighorn Sheep
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Greater Roadrunner
The bighorns' concave hooves allow them to climb steep, rocky desert mountains quickly and easily, helping them escape predators such as mountain lions, coyotes and bobcats.
Greater roadrunners are well suited for the desert since they can lower their body temperatures at night and warm up in the morning by spreading their wings to expose their dark skin to the sun.
Desert Pupfish and Burrowing Owl
Desert Pupfish
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Burrowing
Owls
When water temperatures cool each winter, they can burrow into their underwater home’s muddy bottom to survive, feeding mostly on green and brown algae.
They have unusually long legs and spend much of their time on the ground. They also lack tufts of feathers just above their eyes like most owls.
Threats to the Biome
Threat
Pollution from urban, agricultural and mining activities severely impacts the Mojave's delicate desert ecosystems and also puts human health at risk. Additionally, large numbers of people use the Mojave for recreation, causing further degradation. Water withdrawal drains wetlands and rivers, destroying habitat for many species of fish and wildlife, some of which are unique to the Mojave. Additionally, with increasing diversity of introduced plants comes the potential for invasion by introduced animals. Some common invasive plant species are saltcedar, brome grasses, perennial pepperweed and Russian thistle. These species grow over much larger areas than native plants, providing extra fuel for fires which have become more frequent and intense.
Why to visit the Mojave Desert
Why to visit
You can encounter hundreds of species of native and migratory birds as well as a spectacular array of plants, including wondrously colorful blooms that carpet the desert floor in spring. There are also tourists attractions like the lava tube, the mojave road, the isolation, and the kelso sand dunes.
Topic 6
https://weatherspark.com
https://www.nps.gov
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http://mojavedesert.net/overview/a02.html#:~:text=The%20creosote%20bush%20(Larrea%20tridentata,to%20avoid%20loss%20of%20water.
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/nevada/stories-in-nevada/parklet-las-vegas-species-information/
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https://www.theoutbound.com/alex-e-163524/8-reasons-to-visit-the-mojave-national-preserve