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Deserts in California

The United States has four desert regions, all located within the southwestern area of the country. Three of the four deserts can be found within southern California. Each of California's deserts has a different climate and many feature wildlife and plants that aren't found anywhere else in the world. California's deserts also feature some of the largest national parks and preserves in the U.S. These parks, such as Joshua Tree National Park, strive to preserve the deserts and educate people about desert life.

Mojave
- The Mojave Desert covers a large area of southeastern California and spreads across Nevada, Arizona and Utah. According to the Desert USA website, the Mojave desert is more than 25,000 square miles, or more than 16 million acres. The Mojave Desert lies farther north than the Colorado Desert, but is farther south than the Great Basin Desert. This desert has a higher elevation than the Colorado Desert and experiences cooler temperatures. One part of the Mojave Desert, known as Death Valley, experiences some of the hottest temperatures in the country. The Mojave Desert's landscape is more sparse than the Colorado Desert, featuring fewer trees and cacti. The Joshua tree has the distinction of being one of the few tree species within this region; the Mojave desert is the only place in which Joshua trees grow.
Colorado
- The southwestern U.S. is covered by the Sonoran Desert. A portion of that desert extends into California and is known as the Colorado Desert. The California Department of Fish and Game states that the Colorado Desert expands across 7 million acres, or just under 11,000 square miles, from the border of Mexico to the edges of the Mojave Desert. The Colorado Desert has low elevation. Because of that and the fact that it is further south than the Mojave, this desert sometimes is called the low desert. Summer daytime temperatures in the Colorado Desert are higher than many higher elevation deserts; the Colorado Desert also lacks frost most of the time. Another factor distinguishing it from the Mojave Desert is that the Colorado Desert experiences two rainy seasons per year, compared to one rainy season in the Mojave Desert. The Colorado Desert also features more trees than the Mojave.
Great Basin
- As the largest desert in the U.S., the Great Basin Desert spreads over areas of Idaho, Utah, Nevada and a small portion of California. According to Desert USA, the Great Basin Desert measures about 190,000 square miles, or 121.6 million acres, and is bordered by the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Rocky Mountains. This desert is unlike the typical desert because it is what's known as a cool desert. Because of its higher elevation and more northern latitude, the temperatures in the Great Basin Desert are cooler and it receives more precipitation throughout the year as opposed to having specific rainy seasons.

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