Sonoran Desert 5000 Square Miles Of Silence

FusionSpark Media, Inc. presents "Sonoran Desert: 5000 Square Miles of Silence," an online photo-documentary of the Sonoran Desert that is part of the One World Journeys series. The documentary highlights the ecology and history of the Sonoran Desert, which is located in western North America.

Part natural history, part call to conservation, and part love song, this evocative and informative excursion into the Sonoran Desert along the U.S.-Mexico border brings to life the beauty of a sparse and seductive terrain.

Describes the animals and the people and their customs of the vast desert regions, where nature dictates the rules and methods of survival.

The text of this book is based upon material contributed by certain past and present staff members of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona.

Covering approximately 120,000 square miles, this sprawling desert rivals Death Valley as the hottest and driest place in North America, yet encompasses a broad diversity of environments. This 9" x 12" book is overflowing with beautiful photos and details for your enjoyment.

National parks are different from other federal lands in the United States. Beginning in 1872 with the establishment of Yellowstone, they were largely set aside to preserve for future generations the most spectacular and inspirational features of the country, seeking the best representative examples of major ecosystems such as Yosemite, geologic forms such as the Grand Canyon, archaeological sites such as Mesa Verde, and scenes of human events such as Gettysburg. But one type of habitat--the desert--fell short of that goal in American eyes until travel writers and the Automobile Age began to change that perception. As the Park Service began to explore the better-known Mojave and Colorado deserts of southern California during the 1920s for a possible desert park, many agency leaders still carried the same negative image of arid lands shared by many Americans--that they are hostile and largely useless. But one wealthy woman--Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, from Pasadena--came forward, believing in the value of the desert, and convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt to establish a national monument that would protect the unique and iconic Joshua trees and other desert flora and fauna. Thus was Joshua Tree National Monument officially established in 1936, with the area later expanded in 1994 when it became Joshua Tree National Park. Since 1936, the National Park Service and a growing cadre of environmentalists and recreationalists have fought to block ongoing proposals from miners, ranchers, private landowners, and real estate developers who historically have refused to accept the idea that any desert is suitable for anything other than their consumptive activities. To their dismay, Joshua Tree National Park, even with its often-conflicting land uses, is more popular today than ever, serving more than one million visitors per year who find the desert to be a place worthy of respect and preservation. Distributed for George Thompson Publishing