Overview
The Mojave Desert is an arid rain-shadow desert in the southwestern United States, covering approximately 124,000 square kilometers across parts of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. It lies between the Great Basin Desert to the north and the Sonoran Desert to the south, and it is the smallest of the four major North American deserts.
Geography and Physical Features
The Mojave is characterized by basin-and-range topography, with broad valleys separated by isolated mountain ranges. It contains the lowest point in North America at Badwater Basin in Death Valley, 86 meters below sea level. The desert receives less than 250 millimeters of rainfall per year, and summer temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
Significance
The Mojave is the home of the iconic Joshua tree, a yucca species that gives Joshua Tree National Park its name and is found almost nowhere else. The desert has supported Native American cultures for thousands of years, including the Mojave and Chemehuevi peoples. Today it includes major protected areas such as Death Valley National Park and the Mojave National Preserve.
Notable Facts
Death Valley holds the record for the highest reliably measured air temperature on Earth, 56.7 degrees Celsius, recorded on July 10, 1913. The Mojave is also home to Las Vegas, which sits in a valley on the desert's northeastern edge. Edwards Air Force Base, located on a dry lakebed in the Mojave, has hosted many milestones in aviation and the U.S. space shuttle program.