The desert is immense and infinitely variable, yet delicately fragile. It is a land shaped by sudden torrents of rain and climatic extremes.
Rainfall is sparse and unpredictable.
Streambeds are usually dry and waterholes are few. This land may appear defeated and dead, but within its parched environment are intricate living systems, each fragment performing a slightly different function, and each fragment depending upon the whole system for survival. Two deserts, two large ecosystems primarily determined by elevation, come together at Joshua Tree National Park. Few areas more vividly illustrate the contrast between high and low desert. Adding interest to this arid land are small stands of spidery ocotillo and jumping Cholla cactus.