The MAGICAL Mojave Desert Plants of Southern Utah | Joshua Tree National Conservation Area
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ม.ค. 2023
- • Today we explore the magical Mojave Desert flora in Utahs Joshua Tree National Conservation Area. It is January 14th, but it’s pretty hard to tell by looking at all the blooming flowers, and evergreen plants everywhere. This area is the most biodiverse region in all of the state of Utah both animal, and plant wise. It also holds the record for the lowest point in the state (~ 1,900 feet elevation), and warmest place in the state (zone 9b). Which means this valley never gets below 25°F - 30°F, and most years stays above freezing entirely. This area is the same exact growing zone as Phoenix, Arizona and most of Los Angeles. This valley is regularly 5 - 10 °F warmer than the city of St. George itself (zone 8b/9a), which is about 30 minutes east of the JTNCA. This is my absolute favorite area in my state, and I hope you enjoy the remote, but diverse beauty that this area of the Southwest has to offer. Thanks for watching, appreciate ya!
[Rad Animals In The Area] : Gila Monsters, Desert Iguanas, Utah Banded Geckos, Chuckwallas, Zebra Tailed Lizards, Desert Night Lizards, Mojave Desert Tortoises, 8 species of Rattle Snakes, Coachwhip Snakes, Mojave Desert Sidewinders, Western Blind Snakes, Pacific Tree Frogs, many species of Scorpions (including the most venomous in the Americas), 3 species of Tarantulas, Tarantula Hawk Wasps, Giant Desert Centipedes, Camel Spiders (Solifugae), California Condors, Road Runners, multiple species of Hummingbirds year round, Pumas, Desert Bighorn Sheep, Ringtails & many more incredible desert creatures!
[Rad Plants in the Area Not Shown] : Acacia greggii (Catclaw Acacia), Phoradendron californicum (Acacia Mistletoe), Prosopis glandulosa (Honey Mesquite), Prosopis pubescens (Screwbean Mesquite), Prosopis juliflora (Evergreen Mesquite), Parkinsonia aculeata (Mexican Palo Verde), Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba Bush), Mortonia utahensis (Utah Mortonia), Prunus fasciculata (Desert Almond), Chilopsis linearis (Desert Willow), Agave utahensis (Utah Agave), Yucca schidigera (Mojave Yucca), Yucca elata (Soaptree Yucca), Dudleya arizonica ( Arizona Chalk Dudleya), Echinocactus polycephalus (Many Headed Barrel Cactus), Opuntia chlorotica (Pancake Prickly Pear), & much more!
Those blue skies...
Great video and explaination of the varied plant life. I too love this place and have travelled from north Idaho 3 years in a row just to spend time out there. Something magical about this area! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for sharing this, what a gorgeous place. That view between 9:00 - 10:00 is absolutely unreal.
Absolutely, no problem. I love sharing my home with everyone because it really is such a special place. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for watching!
Beautiful video with some truly gorgeous scenery. Being overcast only adds to the ambience. Some truly gorgeous specimens of y. brevifolia and several cacti. Thnx for sharing with us. Randy/GA
Thank you so much Randy! I truly appreciate all your kind words. I’m so glad you enjoyed this wonderful place, it’s one of my favorite places in the world. I found out later that I wasn’t even close to the thickest part of this joshua tree forest in S. Utah, so I hope to go back soon and film the most beautiful parts. Maybe after monsoon season when all the flowers are coming into bloom again! Thanks so much for watching, take care!
What a gorgeous area, my gosh! I’m still amazed that Joshua trees are native to Utah, I love it, it’s hard to comprehend how diverse and stunning your state is! That area looks like something right out of the SoCal deserts, same ecosystem of course, love it! The colors of the soil and rocks and of course all the gorgeous desert plants are so striking, those who think the desert is just barren and empty really need to see this. It’s incredible how different this area is from the red rock country, and from all the alpine forests not far away. Desert ecosystems are my favorite! Thanks for sharing this magical place!
It is my absolute favorite area in the whole entire state, it is just fantastic! I know seriously, we are so lucky to have Joshua Trees here! They even grow up at 5500-6000 feet elevation a little further north in eastern Washington County. I want to try to find the highest elevation specimen I can, and make a video! You are totally right man, Utah is one gem of a state. And this area looks COMPLETELY different from the higher elevation, red rock country portions of the Mojave around St. George. I couldn’t believe how diverse this area was! I will have to go back in the spring when everything is blooming. And the tortoises, and gila monsters are out and about. I would love to film a video of Agave utahensis, those gorgeous California fire barrels, and all the Acacias in full bloom! The Pine Valley Mountains where the biggest wild(but planted) Giant Sequoia in Utah is located, is only about 50 minutes from this place. It’s pretty crazy man, I’m so glad you enjoy it too! Thanks so much for watching!
Beautiful video of a beautiful place! The ephedra-looking plant is turpentinebroom Thamnosma montana. It's gorgeous in February with lots of deep purple flowers. Also lots of snakeweed there
You have made us a really amazing video ... that sage is a texas sage.
Im thumbing this as i watch very beautiful
I love it all ... not just cause my name is JOSHUA
That prickly pear with the red pricklys wow
Thank you so much for the kind words, I truly appreciate it. I’m so glad you enjoyed the video Joshua! And I was literally thinking it was Texas Sage, but I had no idea it ranged into Southern Utah! Thank you so much for clarifying that! Thanks for watching, have a great day!
Great video brother 👍
Thank so much for watching! Appreciate ya!
What a great video! I truly appreciate your knowledge.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate you watching, cheers!
What a spectacular landscape.
Muito bom parabéns ❤😂
This was very interesting. I've never seen the desert before . Beautiful ❤️ Love to visit one day!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! The Mojave Desert is a very beautiful, harsh, and surprisingly diverse ecosystem. I love sharing the beauty of my home with anybody, and everybody who will listen. Thanks so much for watching! Take care! 🌵
@@southwesthardypalms Hey read in another reply that there is a giant sequoia 🌴 tree and blooming desert 🏜️ Love to see that thanks I hit that subscribe button. Question is there petrified forest there?
@@jannahebner5110 Yes there is a very large Giant Sequoia in the Pine Valley Mountains, less than an hour north of this place! I would love to find it and film a video sometime, that’s a great idea. And I will definitely be going back to the area in the video to film the spring bloom in the desert! It will be magical. I hope to film many desert animals at this location as well, as I saw MANY burrows and signs of all kinds of life. And yes there are actually quite a few petrified forests here in the state of Utah! We have basically the highest densities of fossils, and minerals in the whole entire U.S. The geology is absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for subscribing, I truly appreciate it! 🌵 🌵
@@southwesthardypalms I would really like to see the blooming desert 🏝️. I never knew that Utah heald so much beauty. If possible can you make it to the sequoia that would be great 👍. From Florida so not many chances to see that wonder.
Fantastic video. Any recommendations for books or other resources to learn about native Utah plants? It would be great to learn about the desert areas, as well as the northern areas. Thanks!
Looks like the perfect place to get out and hike around when it's freezing in northern Utah. Did you see many reptiles and insects up and at it? It might be just warm enough down there for some of them to be active year round.
It sure is! It was pretty mild and rainy when we where there. We where searching for desert tortoises, or any other lizards but sadly didn’t see any. We did see some butterflies, a jumping spider, and lots of different colorful native bees. There was quite a few flowers out so it makes sense they would be out and about still! Thanks for watching!
Round leaf buffalo berry bushes are so sick. I want one.
Great video! The biodiversity of that area is impressive. I’m glad it is being protected and will not be developed like the rest of Washington County.
Thank you, I appreciate it! This area is definitely a treasure. I am also happy that people saw the value in this area, and protected it so early on. It honestly scares me to think about what Washington County will look like in 20 years. It’s growing so fast, pushing the Mojave Desert flora & fauna further and further out. Thanks for watching, cheers!
30 years ago i visited the American Southwest. It was a guided bus tour.
But our tour guide knew almost nothing about the plant live out there.
For every question i asked i got just strange looks from him...
Wish that there were the internet to get some information!
Dang that’s a bummer! I’m sorry he wasn’t able to tell you those things. I feel a tour guide should have at the very least, basic knowledge of the biology in the area. But at least you can learn them now with the internet! Thanks for watching!
The plant you thought was lettuce is a Sahara mustard,very evasive.
nice
Thanks for watching!
Are there baby joshua tree seedlings in Utah. The former park ranger at Joshua Tree Natl Park says there are no seedlings at lower elevations…
Yes absolutely! I was surprised to see so many. The crytobiotic crust in this area is extremely healthy, and almost every plant has a healthy population in this area of Utah. It’s such a bummer to hear seedlings aren’t surviving in Joshua Tree NP. Thanks for watching!
Is there any any type of Aloe there?
No sadly, I wish there was. There is a species of Agave though, which looks extremely similar. It’s called Agave utahensis. Thanks for watching!
No place to go barefoot...🤣
LOL I would highly advise against it! Basically every single plant out there has defensive spines, or toxins of some sort.
@@southwesthardypalms I would recommend wearing Long pants , Long sleeves , & hiking boots.
😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
What a great video! I am actually thinking of relocating to that area are there any nice small towns around there quiet? Other than St George.
We have the Hudson pare here where I live and is out of control which I think you call the halo cactus we are trying to irradiate it with poison