California

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree sits where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, so its famous trees are only one part of the story. This guide moves through granite weathering, desert plant strategies, Indigenous oases, ranching and mining, Minerva Hoyt’s conservation campaign and the complicated cultural afterlife of the park’s rock formations. The result is a desert guide about scarcity, adaptation and human attempts to make a living where water is never guaranteed.