Mojave Desert Biome“Beside the water””

By Kara Allen

The name “Mojave”

originated from the Mojave Indians, a

shorter version of

Hamakhaave. The name

means, “beside the water”

The Mojave is a small desert

biome covering less than 50,000 square miles

The land covers a

large portion of southern

California, southern Nevada,

the western border of Arizona,

and a touch of south western

Utah.

Often it is called the “High Desert”, with elevations extending from 2,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level.

The Mojave is also home to the lowest point in the US, Badwater Basin in Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level.

The Mojave is a typical Basin and Range topography. It is surrounded by mountain ranges…

Tehachapi Mountains

San Gabriel Mountains

and the San Bernardino Mountains

With the desert being

surrounded by these mountain ranges, it is in a

rain shadow. Leaving the

animal and plant life to survive off of the two main water sources: the

Colorado River and

groundwater

This ecosystem is also the driest of the north American deserts. The average rainfall is less than 15cm.

In 1912, a city in the Mojave called Bagdad went 767 consecutive days without rain, holding the record for longest dry period in US history.

It is a hot/cold desert, with average

temperatures ranging from 8⁰F in January to

119⁰F in August.

On July 10, 1913 the temperature in Death

Valley reached a scorching 134⁰F, the highest in recorded

history.

E — Endangered

T — Threatened

C — Candidate

S — Sensitive

The Mojave is home to over 2,500

species of wildlife and vegetation, and

many have been placed on a

protected list

Amargosa southern pocket gopher-C

Desert bighorn sheep-S

Mountain lion-CTownsend’s big-eared bat-C

Bald eagle-T

California brown

pelican-E

Least Bell’s vireo-E

Mexican spotted owl-T

Yuma clapper rail-E

Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard-T Desert tortoise-T

Lowland leopard frog-C

Badwater snail-C

Bear-paw poppy-C

Foxtail cactus

-C

Eureka Valley Evening Primrose-E Panamint daisy-C

Sticky buckwhe

at-C

“The Carbon Sink”Over ten years ago, researchers started

experimenting on how much carbon dioxide the deserts an absorb from

the atmosphere

With the human population pumping large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from fossil fuel emissions, and deforestation at an alarming

rate, an alternative source of absorption is needed.

During this experiment, researchers exposed undisturbed plots of the Mojave desert to elevated levels of Co2 at 550 ppm, what is believed the levels will be in 2050. When the soil was removed for findings, the Co2 level in the soil had increased indicating the desert land had absorbed the carbon dioxide.

Researchers even found several arid areas greening from the carbon rich land

Within the borders of the Mojave, there are four National parks protecting this wondrous land

Death Valley National Park

Joshua Tree National Park

Mojave National Preserve

California State Park,Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve

Even with over half of this land protected, much has been taken over for development of cities. With growth of cities, comes growth of population, thus drying out the water table.

The desert is well known

for motocross and other

recreational doings.

Unfortunately, with these

human activities

comes land pollution and

plant destruction

Renewable energy reasources are taking over many acres of land, destroying animal habitats

As these developments continue, our beautiful desert ecosystem is being destroyed

In an article on human impact to the desert, Leonard Gaydos stated “The good news is that the desert

seems to recover faster than the earlier model predicted. The bad

news is that it still takes the land a long time to return to its original state, and, in some cases, it may

never be exactly what it was before the disturbance occurred.”

It is our responsibility to

protect this beautiful land from becoming

inhabitable. The desert wildlife and vegetation already

survive on little water, we can do our part to help preserve

the water and the land

Be conscious of your water usage….

when watering outdoors

by taking shorter showers

And running only full loads in dish and clothes washers

Planting desert friendly plants helps to keep soil in place, preventing erosion, and enabling rain to flow back into our

water table

When exploring and enjoying the desert, be mindful of areas that are marked off. These areas

are off limits to protect our flora and fauna.

Be sure to take any trash with you, and if you see any pick it up!Litter left behind can harm animals and suffocate plant life.

Just a few fun facts about the Mojave Desert…

The Mojave is home to a well known

Christmas decoration, and a

parasite, Mistletoe. The seeds of this

parasite penetrate the bark of desert

trees, using a modified root. The parasite steals the nutrients it needs from the host. The good news is the

parasites invasion is rarely enough to kill

its host

Arachnophobia at its finest--There is a spider in the Mojave known as the “wind scorpion”. It’s actual name is a camel spider. This spider gets it name from the ability to run up to 10 mph.

Survival of the creepiest--

The “horny toad” looks like a toad and has a crown

of horns, yet when threatened

by a predator puffs up to

double its body size. If that’s not

enough, it will squirt noxious blood from its

eyes

Old age—There is a bush, called the creosote bush in the Mojave. Indians used it for many medicinal purposes. They would chew a piece of the branch to cure diarrhea. Other tribes would use dried leaves to make a tea to treat the common cold and with a touch of honey to the tea would relieve kidney pain. Leaf nodes were used to soothe bruises and wounds. Scientists have dated this bush to have been around since the Ice Age. There is one of these creosote bushes near Lucerne Valley known as the “King Clone”. It has an average of 45 feet in diameter and is estimated to be 11,700 years old!

Let’s keep this desert beautiful