Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert (pronunciation: /moʊˈhɑːvi, mə-/mo-HAH-vee) is a rain-shadow, mostly high desert area, that occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona in the United States. The Mojave Desert's boundaries are generally defined by the presence of Yucca brevifolia (Joshua trees), considered an indicator species for this desert. It is the driest of the North American deserts. The desert is believed to support between 1,750 and 2,000 species of plants.

It is roughly rectangular in shape, bounded by the Great Basin Desert to the north, and the Sonoran Desert to the south and east. The topographical boundaries include the Tehachapi Mountains to the west, and the San Gabriel Mountains and San Bernardino Mountains to the south. The mountain boundaries are quite distinct since they are outlined by the two largest faults in California, the San Andreas and Garlock faults. The Mojave Desert displays typical basin and range topography. Higher elevations above 2,000 feet (610 m) in the Mojave are commonly referred to as the High Desert; however, Death Valley is the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level and is one of the Mojave Desert's more notorious places. It occupies less than 50,000 square miles, making it the smallest of the North American deserts.