Ghost Mine Episode 3

Mojave Desert Plants and Animals

The plants and animals living in the Mojave Desert depend on groundwater and water from the Mojave and Colorado Rivers. Many endangered plants and animals live in the region.

Plants

Between 1750 and 2000 species of plants grow in the region and about a quarter of these are found nowhere else.

Cacti, creosote bush and Mojave sage grow on the rocky slopes.

There are few trees, apart from the well-known Joshua tree, which grows nowhere else but the Mojave.

About a quarter of the plant species in the Mojave Desert are found nowhere else. There are several types of cacti, parasitic plants and many wildflowers. Conifers grow on some of the higher mountain ranges, such as the Spring Mountains.

Animals

Many birds, arachnids, animals, reptiles and amphibians live in the Mojave Desert including:

Birds: Hummingbird Red-tailed Hawk Raven	Arachnids: Tarantula Scorpion
Animals: Cougar Coyote Desert Bighorn Sheep Desert Kit Fox Desert Pronghorn Antelope Jackrabbit Kangaroo Rat Mule Deer	Reptiles: Chuckwalla lizard Desert horned lizard Desert iguana Fringe-toed lizard Gila Monster Gopher Snake Mojave Green Rattlesnake Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Zebra-tailed lizard
Amphibians: Desert Tortoise – threatened species Mohave Tui Chub – endangered fish