A Natural History of the Mojave Desert

by Lawrence R. Walker, Frederick H. Landau

The Mojave Desert has a rich natural history. Despite being sandwiched between the larger Great Basin and Sonoran Deserts, it has enough mountains, valleys, canyons, and playas for any eager explorer. Ancient and current waterways carve the bajadas and valley bottoms. This diverse topography gives rise to a multitude of habitats for plants and animals, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.

A Natural History of the Mojave Desert explores how a combination of complex geology, varied geography, and changing climate has given rise to intriguing flora and fauna—including almost 3,000 plant species and about 380 terrestrial vertebrate animal species. Of these, one quarter of the plants and one sixth of the animals are endemic.

The authors, who, combined, have spent more than six decades living in and observing the Mojave Desert, offer a scientifically insightful and personally observed understanding of the desert. They invite readers to understand how the Mojave Desert looks, sounds, feels, tastes, and smells. They prompt us to understand how humans have lived in this desert where scant vegetation and water have challenged humans, past and present.

A Natural History of the Mojave Desert provides a lively and informed guide to understanding how life has adapted to the hidden riverbeds, huge salt flats, tiny wetlands, and windswept hills that characterize this iconic desert.

Genres: Nature, Science, Nonfiction

344 pages, Paperback

Published March 27, 2018

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Physical geography, water, plants, animals, and those ghastly humans.

[Connor Coyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife and I are Midwesterners who recently planned a family vacation to Kingman, Arizona. We were unfamiliar with the region -- unfamiliar with the desert entirely -- and so I wanted to learn a little bit about the area that we are visiting. A few Google searches took me to Walker and Landau's "A Natural History of the Mojave Desert," and reading this book has broadened my perspectives and enriched our travel.

This is a good example of my favorite kind of science writing for a general readership. Everything is clearly and precisely explained, with a helpful glossary, lots of maps, photos, and illustrations. The authors are well aware that readers will be approaching the subject with varying degrees of experience and background, and so they explain things in a way that covers all of the bases without ever seeming perfunctory or condescending. And yet, this clarity and careful presentation is also infused with the palpable passion of the authors for the subject. Walker and Landau understand the poetry of the desert, and of the natural and historical forces distinct to the Mojave, and work to convey the urgency of responsible management and preservation to their audience. That clear personal investment makes the text come alive in detail.

For example, it is one thing to know that Joshua Trees are threatened by encroaching urbanization and an increasingly hostile climate, but it is quite another to have been led through their delicate maturation process, their symbiotic relationship with "nurse plants" that support them through a vulnerable youth, and the way they have had to migrate in pursuit of agreeable temperatures and resources.

I think that there is a tendency, especially among those of us native to wetter, greener places, to view deserts as desolations, bereft of life and interesting features. Even if we know, mentally, that this is not the case, it is hard to erase preconceptions of blasted, barren landscapes. A Natural History of the Mojave Desert presents these landscapes as varied, busy, wild, and surprising places in a continual process of change and adaptation. I recommend it for anyone contemplating a visit to the Mojave Desert, as well as anyone who is interested in better understanding this very special place.

[E Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This engagingly written account of the workings of the Mojave (and other) desert is a great read for anyone interested in ecology. It is refreshingly free of climate change doom and gloom, and instead takes a practical approach to how Mojave Desert region has changed over time and could change in the future.
Though called "A Natural History," about halfway through the focus changes to human development and impact in the region. The human history--including early native cultures, the gold rush area, and up to present day--is interesting. I will admit though, I picked up this book for the plant and animal ecology. While I understand that humans dramatically impact the landscape for all species, I started skimming at that point instead of reading deeply.
Overall, very interesting observations about the biology of the Mojave region, and fascinating insights into the culture of the native tribes. Plus, the photographs provide excellent examples of discussions in text and give nice breaks from long chunks of text.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is chock full of info about the desert southwest. It's perhaps the most informative book I've read on the subject. I understand the desert a great deal better for reading this. He talks about changes in weather and vegetation and animal life in relation to climate, invasive species, and human influence, as well as the history of vegetation and water in the desert and its relationship to human settlement, the history of the rivers, and the differences in altitude. It's fascinating. One issue is that although the book is packed full of great photographs, there still weren't enough. Sometimes there are two photos on a page and very little text. But he still ends up talking about plants and animals that aren't pictured. Also there is no detailed map where you can see exactly where what he's talking about is.

[Jenna Schauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Official Rating: 4.5

If you are interested in history, ecology, and/or biology and you have an interest in the deserts of the United States, this is an excellent read. It covers literally everything. Not too in-depth that it becomes jargon-ey, but not so surface level that you are left feeling like you didn’t get the information you wanted.

Walker and Landau do an excellent job of infusing the text with their passion for the desert. Highlighting their personal experiences and observations, the information they provide is also accurate and factual. However, it does not come across as a textbook.

[Kyle Mellon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent source material for anyone wanting to further appreciate adventuring in the Mojave. It has all the scientific terms and crunchy data along with brilliant photography, maps, and insights. It has all the detail you’d expect from a text book, but reads very easy and is extremely enjoyable.

[Matthew Winkler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illuminating.

[Ryan G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so fun to read. So well organized and so well written. I wish every eco region had a counterpart