California's 25,000 square miles of desert can be divided
into two basic zones; the Mojave
desert, or high desert, and the
Colorado desert, or low desert, which is part of the
Sonoran Desert. California's
deserts are home to two National Parks--Death Valley and
Joshua Tree, East Mojave National Reserve, and Anza- Borrego State
Park, the largest park in the state parks system.
California deserts have some of the lowest elevations in the
U.S. and the hottest temperatures. They also home to the
world's oldest tree. The most famous vacation desert is Palm
Desert, often associated with Palm Springs. Summers are
nearly unbearable and are considered the "off" tourist
season. Vacationing launches around October and continues
into April each year. The desert nearly always has sunshine
and very little rain.
Palm Desert is the oasis of golfing, vacation homes, swimming
pools, and is where the movie stars used to go to get away
from their demanding fans, and daily routines. The Palm
Desert is now within reach of every vacationer.
Jeep tours, art galleries, shopping, fine dining, hiking and
golf are a few diversions to keep you busy enough in Palm
Desert.
Other desert regions of California include the Mojave Desert.
The desert area stretches from San Diego, San Bernardino and
Riverside County in the southern portion of California to
the Central California region.
Since California is bordered by Nevada and Arizona, both known
as deserts, the state has lots of dry, cactus-laden
landscapes, and some beautiful sand dunes to visit in
California's national parks located in the desert.
One favorite activity is photographing the cacti in bloom and
wildflowers after the spring rains and monsoons.
The stark contrast between the dry earth and bright flowers
makes the picture-taking even more interesting and dynamic.
