Joshua Tree National Park is one of three public wilderness/recreation areas that border the Coachella Valley. The landscape here varies between low and high desert; much of the park is above 3,000 feet. Several of the valley springs are located within the Park. Pictured above is the natural vegetation of Cottonwood Spring, just as it has presumably been for many thousands of years (minus the guardrail). The iconic plant is of course the eponymous Joshua tree – a form of yucca. They grow to over 30 feet high. Also within the park are examples of monzogranite erosion that creates large piles of naked boulders without the more usual glacial activity that moves rocks into piles.