The Classic Desert
The Mojave Desert exists in a rain shadow created by the Transverse Ranges and the Sierra Nevada
The Mojave Desert is a dry and hot region surrounded by mountains. The surrounding mountains, Sierra Nevada, San Gabriel, and San Bernardino, block moist air from the Pacific Ocean, allowing Mojave, on its eastern side, to lie within what is known as the "rain shadow," which makes it very dry. The Mojave joins the Colorado Plateau to the east. Its northern boundary reaches the Great Basin Desert, and the southern boundary meets the Sonoran Desert.
Weather and Rain
The Mojave Desert doesn't get much rain, and how much it gets depends on where you are:
Low areas, such as Baker, CA, get only about 4 inches of rainfall per year.
High areas receive up to 9 inches of rainfall annually, and they even experience snowfall during winter sometimes.
Rain falls in quick bursts during the summer monsoons and in heavier showers in winter, with February usually being the wettest month. Summers are extremely hot with temperatures well over 105F, but winters can be quite cold, especially in the mountains, where it does occasionally snow.
Snow can occur in the higher elevations - Phelan, Ca.
Rain Shadow
The mountains block ocean moisture.
People and Nature
People have lived in the Mojave for thousands of years. Paleoindians were among the first to settle the area, while today it has areas for fun, land set aside for nature, and places for mining. It has problems such as not enough water, use of off-road vehicles, and invasive plants. The Mojave Desert: a land of extremes-very hot summers and cold winters, a very difficult place where plants, animals, and people have learned to survive and do well. It proves that life can still exist even under very difficult conditions.Introduction
A Classic American Desert
At the Extremes
Adaptations
Human History
... results show that Paleoindians may have reached this area as ...Rising to the Occasion
As more people seek escape from the congestion of nearby ...Management Challenges
But because ecosystems do not recognize such boundaries, ...Water
Groundwater and the Mojave and Colorado Rivers are the ...Off-Highway Vehicles
... riding motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, dune buggies, and ...Fire and Weeds
... not common in the Mojave Desert, and when they did occur, ...source - BLM
