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What is Joshua Tree National Park?
- Joshua Tree National Park encompasses almost 800,000 acres in Southern California. The area is infinitely variable, seeming unwelcoming and sometimes brutal during summer. However, the land is actually quite fragile and delicate.
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How was the landscape of the park formed?
- Climate extremes, torrential downpours, and strong winds shaped the park's land, although the rain is unpredictable and sparse.
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How do animals and plants survive in the park?
- The survival of the animals and plants that live within the park relies on their whole ecosystem.
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Who were the first inhabitants of the area?
- During the area's more flourishing times, members of the Pinto Culture, among the earliest inhabitants of the Southwest, lived in the Pinto Basin that is now dry.
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What evidence of Native American presence exists in the park?
- Indians later left behind pottery ollas and rock paintings as evidence of their presence in the desert for harvests of cactus fruit, pinyon nuts, and mesquite beans.
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When did cattlemen arrive in the area?
- Cattlemen arrived in the desert in the late 1800s. Dams were built by the cattlemen for water.
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Who followed the cattlemen into the area?
- Miners soon followed them in a quest for gold, leaving behind the Keys Ranch, Desert Queen Mine, and Lost Horse Mine.
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When did homesteaders arrive?
- Homesteaders arrived in the 1930s in search of an opportunity to start their lives anew and free land.
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Why do people visit Joshua Tree National Park today?
- Today, however, people visit the desert in search of blue skies and tranquility.
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