The Mojave desert

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The Mojave Desert is a vast desert region located in the southwestern United States, encompassing parts of California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. It is known for being one of the hottest and most arid deserts in North America, with temperatures that can exceed 45 °C in the summer months.


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It is located a couple of hours from Las Vegas and three hours from Los Angeles, and is home to one of my favorite plants, the Joshua tree.

Mojave National Preserve

The desert takes its name from the Indian tribe of the same name. The name “Mojave” (or Mohave) comes from the word in their own language meaning “by the water” or “by the river”, in reference to the Colorado River, which is central to their history and culture.

The Mojave extends for approximately 130,000 km². It is bordered on the north by the Great Basin Desert, on the south by the Sonoran Desert, on the east by the Colorado Desert, and on the west by the Sierra Nevada Mountains (the main mountain range in California). The park is crisscrossed by several long straight roads, with its American flow.

Mojave National Preserve

This desert has an average annual rainfall of just 10 to 13 cm -the driest desert on North America-, yet it is home to an amazing biodiversity.

In terms of fauna, it is home to animals such as the coyote, mountain goat, horned owl, and reptiles such as the rattlesnake 🐍. In addition, the desert is famous for its stick bugs and other insects adapted to the arid climate.

Mojave National Preserve

The Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) is a species of yucca of the agavaceae family and, with its pointed leaves and branched trunks, has become one of the most recognizable symbols of the American West.

Mojave National Preserve

The thing I have with the Joshua tree comes, and no one should be surprised about this, because of a great album that U2 released: The Joshua Tree.. They brought the band to the Mojave Desert to do a photo shoot for the album, and they liked the plant so much that they literally changed the name of the album.

Mojave National Preserve

Although the Joshua tree is native to the Mojave, further south there is another nature preserve that is literally awash with these yuccas, The Joshua Tree National Park. It is an endless sea of these very special plants. Getting in the middle of them has a very lysergic effect.

The I-15 interstate highway runs along the northwest side of the park and is the one you take from Las Vegas to California. It is one of the longest highways in the USA, as it starts in Montana on the Canadian border and goes all the way to San Diego, just a few kilometers from the Mexican border.

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone
I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one
But yes, I’m still running
You broke the bonds and you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Of my shame
You know I believe it
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

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