Joshua Tree National Park - Part I

Joshua Tree National Park is located in the Mojave Desert along I-10 in southern California. It covers nearly 1250 square miles, about the size of an average North Dakota county. It has been occupied by one group of humans or another for the past 5000 years.

The Park is in an active earthquake zone. Several identified fault zones are within the Park. The San Andreas' fault runs along the west edge of the Park.

The Park is a favored spot for rock climbers. In fact Trashcan Rock (Picture 2) is a training ground for beginning rock climbers. As we drove through the northwestern park of the Park. we saw dozens of rock climbers. The pictures give you an idea of the terrain which makes it so ideal for this sport. The rocks are granite so hold climbing pins securely.

The third picture shows two climbers beginning to ascend.

The final picture is a long view of the rock formation 

those two climbers were on. Several other climbers further to the left were already near the summit.