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World atlas

Joshua Tree National Park

National Park · United States

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Photo © Mobilus In Mobili

Photo © Mobilus In Mobili — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

ABOUT

Across 5,610 square kilometers of Riverside County's high desert, a landscape of geological drama unfolds where granite monoliths pierce through bajadas of creosote scrub and Joshua trees—those distinctive yuccas that define the Mojave ecosystem. This is a terrain shaped by extreme temperature swings, sparse but seasonal rainfall, and intense solar exposure, creating one of North America's most distinctive arid habitats. The park's ecological character is dominated by small mammals, reptiles, and arthropods adapted to nocturnal activity and heat avoidance, while birds of prey hunt across open ground and canyon corridors, and migratory songbirds pass through during seasonal transitions. Jackrabbits, ground squirrels, and coyotes navigate the sandy washes, while rock crevices shelter lizards and snakes that have evolved to thrive where most vertebrates cannot. The Joshua trees themselves—slow-growing giants that can live for 150 years—structure entire plant communities and provide nesting cavities and food resources that ripple through the desert food web.

For wildlife photographers and naturalists, the park's primary allure lies in the clarity of its desert light and the unobstructed sight lines that make observing adapted fauna accessible across dawn and dusk hours. Spring (March to May) transforms the landscape as seasonal water availability triggers breeding activity and migration pulses, when migratory warblers and other songbirds move through the park's scattered washes and higher elevations, and small mammal activity peaks in response to emerging vegetation. The park's elevation range—from 280 to 1,830 meters—creates subtle ecological gradients that support distinct communities, rewarding visitors who hike beyond roadside viewpoints. Whether tracking predator-prey interactions in the open desert, photographing the intricate adaptations of reptile specialists, or witnessing the seasonal arrival of migratory species, the park demands patience and early morning starts—conditions that separate casual visitors from committed observers and reward them with authentic encounters with one of the continent's most extreme ecosystems.

Website nps.gov/jotr/index.htm

WILDLIFE

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Aquila chrysaetos

Black-throated Sparrow

Amphispiza bilineata

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

Phainopepla nitens

Anna's Hummingbird

Pipilo maculatus

Western Bluebird

Sialia mexicana

California Scrub Jay

Aphelocoma californica

Callipepla gambelii

Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus

Loggerhead Shrike

Lanius ludovicianus

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Dryobates scalaris

Auriparus flaviceps

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Greater Roadrunner

Geococcyx californianus

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

California Thrasher

Toxostoma redivivum

Mountain Bluebird

Sialia currucoides

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Polioptila melanura

Thryomanes bewickii

Zenaida macroura

White-throated Swift

Aeronautes saxatalis

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

California Towhee

Melozone crissalis

Catherpes mexicanus

Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

Lesser Goldfinch

Spinus psaltria

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

Sagebrush Sparrow

Artemisiospiza nevadensis

Anas platyrhynchos

Icterus cucullatus

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

Oreoscoptes montanus

Western Warbling Vireo

Vireo swainsoni

LeConte's Thrasher

Toxostoma lecontei

Brown-headed Cowbird

Sayornis nigricans

American Barn Owl

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Passerina amoena

Common Poorwill

Phalaenoptilus nuttallii

Northern House Wren

Troglodytes aedon

Pandion haliaetus

Passer domesticus

Lesser Nighthawk

Chordeiles acutipennis

Rufous Hummingbird

Selasphorus rufus

Red-naped Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus nuchalis

Mountain Chickadee

Poecile gambeli

Brewer's Blackbird

Euphagus cyanocephalus

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Athene cunicularia

Chondestes grammacus

Black-chinned Sparrow

Spizella atrogularis

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

Fulica americana

Charadrius vociferus

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Red-shouldered Hawk

Swainson's Hawk

Buteo swainsoni

White-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Corthylio calendula

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Salpinctes obsoletus

Costa's Hummingbird

Brewer's Sparrow

Spizella breweri

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Myiarchus cinerascens

Haemorhous mexicanus

Baeolophus inornatus

Icterus parisorum

Turdus migratorius

Western Meadowlark

Sturnella neglecta

Wilson's Warbler

Cardellina pusilla

Black-headed Grosbeak

Pheucticus melanocephalus

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Chukar Partridge

Alectoris chukar

Lawrence's Goldfinch

Spinus lawrencei

Eremophila alpestris

Falco mexicanus

White-winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

Townsend's Solitaire

Myadestes townsendi

Artemisiospiza belli

American Bushtit

Psaltriparus minimus

Green-tailed Towhee

Pipilo chlorurus

Oreortyx pictus

Acorn Woodpecker

Melanerpes formicivorus

MacGillivray's Warbler

Geothlypis tolmiei

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia atricapilla

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Archilochus alexandri

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Eastern Warbling Vireo

Townsend's Warbler

Setophaga townsendi

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Western Flycatcher

Empidonax difficilis

American Grey Flycatcher

Empidonax wrightii

Black-throated Grey Warbler

Setophaga nigrescens

Hammond's Flycatcher

Empidonax hammondii

American Yellow Warbler

Setophaga aestiva

Nashville Warbler

Leiothlypis ruficapilla

Western Kingbird

Tyrannus verticalis

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Violet-green Swallow

Tachycineta thalassina

Willow Flycatcher

Empidonax traillii

Setophaga coronata

Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Western Wood Pewee

Contopus sordidulus

Catharus guttatus

Setophaga occidentalis

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Bucephala albeola

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

American Avocet

Recurvirostra americana

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

California Gull

Larus californicus

Lewis's Woodpecker

Melanerpes lewis

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius

Tachycineta bicolor

Hirundo rustica

White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensis

Anthus rubescens

Red Fox Sparrow

Passerella iliaca

White-throated Sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis

Branta canadensis

Anser caerulescens

Spatula cyanoptera

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Mareca strepera

American Wigeon

Mareca americana

Northern Pintail

Aythya americana

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Oxyura jamaicensis

California Quail

Callipepla californica

Calliope Hummingbird

Selasphorus calliope

Rallus limicola

Porzana carolina

Common Gallinule

Gallinula galeata

Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

Gallinago delicata

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Western Sandpiper

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Double-crested Cormorant

Nannopterum auritum

White-faced Ibis

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Butorides virescens

Western Cattle Egret

Great Blue Heron

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

Parabuteo unicinctus

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

Ferruginous Hawk

Western Screech Owl

Megascops kennicottii

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Williamson's Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus thyroideus

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus ruber

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Dryobates nuttallii

Falco columbarius

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

American Dusky Flycatcher

Empidonax oberholseri

Vermilion Flycatcher

Pyrocephalus rubinus

Cassin's Kingbird

Tyrannus vociferans

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus tyrannulus

Plumbeous Vireo

Clark's Nutcracker

Nucifraga columbiana

Corvus brachyrhynchos

Bombycilla cedrorum

Riparia riparia

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Chamaea fasciata

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Regulus satrapa

Cistothorus palustris

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta canadensis

Bendire's Thrasher

Toxostoma bendirei

Haemorhous purpureus

Haemorhous cassinii

American Goldfinch

Calamospiza melanocorys

Clay-colored Sparrow

Spizella pallida

Pooecetes gramineus

Melospiza melodia

Yellow-breasted Chat

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Northern Waterthrush

Parkesia noveboracensis

Black-and-white Warbler

Mniotilta varia

Leiothlypis luciae

Virginia's Warbler

Leiothlypis virginiae

Kentucky Warbler

Geothlypis formosa

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Painted Whitestart

Myioborus pictus

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Pheucticus ludovicianus

Cardinalis sinuatus

Passerina caerulea

Passerina cyanea

Painted Bunting

Passerina ciris

Seiurus aurocapilla

Ovis canadensis

White-tailed Antelope Squirrel

Ammospermophilus leucurus

Desert Cottontail

Sylvilagus audubonii

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Lepus californicus

California Ground Squirrel

Otospermophilus beecheyi

California Chipmunk

Neotamias obscurus

Merriam's Kangaroo Rat

Dipodomys merriami

Odocoileus hemionus

Round-tailed Ground Squirrel

Xerospermophilus tereticaudus

American Badger

Merriam's Chipmunk

Neotamias merriami

Western Spotted Skunk

Spilogale gracilis

Parastrellus hesperus

Desert Pocket Mouse

Chaetodipus penicillatus

Spiny Pocket Mouse

Chaetodipus spinatus

California Myotis

Myotis californicus

Vulpes macrotis

Common Pallid Bat

Antrozous pallidus

Eptesicus fuscus

Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Corynorhinus townsendii

View Complete List (238 more) →

COMMUNITY

0 Community observations

No community observations yet — be the first to log a sighting here.

Natural environment

Joshua Tree National Park

Dry conditions dominate, with strong contrasts between day and night.

Usual climateHot desertUpland · Lowland

Average annual temperature 20.7 °C Average of the twelve monthly means

Average elevation 638 m Upland

Climate pattern Hot desert Also: Cold desert

A year of temperatures

Monthly means, with the coldest and warmest highlighted

Monthly minimum · December 10.2 °C Monthly maximum · July 31.7 °C

Global temperature scale

−40°−20°0°20°40°

Terrain and elevation

638 m · Upland

Average terrain elevation estimate across the hotspot; the figure does not represent its highest summits.

Elevation scale

638 m

02,0004,0006,0008,000m

Upland

Long-term climate averages, not live weather.

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