Mojave Desert

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The Mojave Desert ( ; Mohave: Hayikwiir Mat'aar; 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. Named after the indigenous Mohave people, it lies mainly in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, with small parts extending into Arizona and Utah. The Mojave Desert and the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin deserts form a larger North American desert. Of these, the Mojave is the smallest and driest. It has typical basin and range topography, generally a series of parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is also the site of Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. The Mojave Desert is often colloquially called the "high desert", because 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-square-mile (140,000 km2) desert supports a number of human activities, including recreation, ranching, and military...

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