Mojave Desert Hayyikwiir Mat'aar (Mohave) Desierto de Mojave (Spanish)
Sand dunes in Death Valley
Location within North America
Ecology
Realm	Nearctic
Biome	Deserts and xeric shrublands
Borders	List California montane chaparral and woodlands Colorado Plateau shrublands Great Basin Desert Sonoran Desert Sierra Nevada
Bird species	230[1]
Mammal species	98[1]
Geography
Area	81,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi)
Country	United States
States	Arizona California Nevada Utah
Coordinates	35°N 116°W / 35°N 116°W / 35; -116
Rivers	Colorado River, Mojave River
Climate type	Cold desert (BWk) and hot desert (BWh)
Conservation
Conservation status	Relatively Stable/Intact[2]

The Mojave Desert (/moʊˈhɑːvi, mə-/ moh-HAH-vee, mə-;^[3][4][5] Mohave: Hayikwiir Mat'aar;^[6] Spanish: Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States.^[7][2] Named for the indigenous Mohave people, it is located primarily in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, with small portions extending into Arizona and Utah.^[8][2]

The Mojave Desert, together with the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin deserts, form a larger North American Desert. Of these, the Mojave is the smallest and driest. It displays typical basin and range topography, generally having a pattern of a series of parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is also the site of Death Valley, which is the lowest elevation in North America. The Mojave Desert is often colloquially called the "high desert", as most of it lies between 2,000 and 4,000 feet (610 and 1,220 m). It supports a diversity of flora and fauna.

The 54,000 sq mi (140,000 km²) desert supports a number of human activities, including recreation, ranching, and military training.^[9] The Mojave Desert also contains various silver, tungsten, iron and gold deposits.^[10]: 124

The spelling Mojave originates from the Spanish language, while the spelling Mohave comes from modern English. Both are used today, although the Mojave Tribal Nation officially uses the spelling Mojave. Mojave is a shortened form of Hamakhaave, an endonym in their native language, which means "beside the water".^[11]

Geography

The Mojave Desert is a desert bordered to the west by the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the California montane chaparral and woodlands, and to the south and east by the Sonoran Desert. The boundaries to the east of the Mojave Desert are less distinctive than the other boundaries because there is no presence of an indicator species, such as the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia),^[13] which is endemic to the Mojave Desert. The Mojave Desert is distinguished from the Sonoran Desert and other deserts adjacent to it by its warm temperate climate, as well as flora and fauna such as ironwood (Olneya tesota), blue Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida), chuparosa (Justicia californica), spiny menodora (Menodora spinescens), desert senna (Cassia armata), California dalea (Psorothamnus arborescens), California fan palm (Washingtonia filifera) and goldenhead (Acamptopappus shockleyi). Along with these other factors, these plants differentiate the Mojave from the nearby Sonoran desert.^[2]

The Mojave Desert is bordered by the San Andreas fault to the southwest and the Garlock fault to the north. The mountains elevated along the length of the San Andreas fault provide a clear border between the Mojave desert and the coastal regions to the west.^[10] The Garlock fault separates the Mojave Desert from the Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi mountains, which provide a natural border to the Mojave Desert. There are also abundant alluvial fans, which are called bajadas, that form around the mountains within the Mojave desert and extend down toward the low altitude basins,^[13] which contain dried lake beds called playas, where water generally collects and evaporates, leaving large volumes of salt. These playas include Rogers Dry Lake, and China Lake. Dry lakes are a noted feature of the Mojave landscape.^[2] The Mojave Desert is also home to the Devils Playground, about 40 miles (64 km) of dunes and salt flats going in a northwest-southeasterly direction. The Devil's Playground is a part of the Mojave National Preserve and is between the town of Baker, California and Providence Mountains. The Cronese Mountains are within the Devil's Playground.

There are very few surface rivers in the Mojave Desert, but two major rivers generally flow underground. One is the intermittent Mojave River, which begins in the San Bernardino mountains and disappears underground in the Mojave Desert.^[14] The other is the Amargosa River, which flows partly underground through the Mojave Desert along a southward path.^[15] The Manix, Mojave, and the Little Mojave lakes are all large but shallow.^[13]: 7 Soda Lake is the principal saline basin of the Mojave desert. Natural springs are typically rare throughout the Mojave desert,^[13]: 19 but there are two notable springs, Ash Meadows and Oasis Valley. Ash Meadows is formed from several other springs, which all draw from deep underground. Oasis Valley draws from the nearby Amargosa River.

Climate

Extremes in temperatures throughout the seasons characterize the climate of the Mojave Desert. Freezing temperatures as well as strong winds are not uncommon in the winter, as well as precipitation such as rain and snow in the mountains. In contrast, temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) are not uncommon during the summer months.^[16] There is an annual average precipitation of 2 to 6 inches (51 to 152 mm), although regions at high altitudes such as the portion of the Mojave desert in the San Gabriel mountains may receive more rain.^[10][8] Most of the precipitation in the Mojave comes from the Pacific Cyclonic storms that are generally present passing eastward in November to April.^[10] Such storms generally bring rain and snow only in the mountainous regions, as a result of the effect of the mountains, which creates a drying effect on its leeward slopes.^[10]

During the late summer months, there is also the possibility of strong thunderstorms, which bring heavy showers or cloudbursts. These storms can result in flash flooding.^[17]

The Mojave Desert has not historically supported a fire regime because of low fuel loads and connectivity. However, in the last few decades, invasive annual plants such as some within the genera Bromus, Schismus and Brassica have facilitated fires by serving as a fuel bed. This has significantly altered many areas of the desert. At higher elevations, fire regimes are regular but infrequent.^[18]