Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is located in southeastern California. It was declared a U.S. National Park in 1994; it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936.

It is named for the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) forests native to the park.

The park covers a land area of 790,636 acres (319,959 ha) or 1,235 square miles – an area slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island. A large part of the park, some 429,690 acres (173,890 ha), is a designated wilderness area.

Straddling the San Bernardino County/Riverside County border, the park includes parts of two deserts, each an ecosystem whose characteristics are determined primarily by elevation: the higher Mojave Desert and lower Colorado Desert. The Little San Bernardino Mountains run through the southwest edge of the park. (Wikipedia: Joshua Tree National Park)