Half way along the main road across Joshua Tree National Park, the Cholla Cactus Garden (elevation 2,160 feet) marks the approximate boundary with the Sonoran Desert, which is hotter and has less rainfall than the Mojave. Beyond the cholla, at lower elevations, ocotillo plants are quite abundant, but generally from here to the south entrance vegetation is sparse and there is not much to see. The scenery is impressive enough though no different to dozens of other desert mountain ranges in south California and neighboring Arizona. About one third of the park lies further to the east, containing the flat Pinto Basin and the remote Coxcomb Mountains - and is an officially designated Wilderness Area. This land is traversed by only a few, low quality, dirt roads, which lead to abandoned mine workings and water wells. The dominant plant is the ubiquitous creosote bush, widespread across all Southwest states - these plants grow at quite widely-spaced intervals to make best use of the scarce water. Just beyond the southeast park boundary, in the Eagle Mountains, a recent agreement has given the go-ahead for construction of what may become the world's largest land fill site, despite much opposition from local conservation groups.
Cottonwood Spring: Near the south entrance, the one main location of interest is at Cottonwood Spring, site of one of Joshua Tree's six fan palm oases, near which is a campground, ranger station, visitor center, picnic area, nature trail, an old gold mine on Mastodon Peak, and the start of a 4 mile path to the Lost Palms Oasis. Beyond this maintained trail are rougher routes to the two most remote oases in the park, at Victory Palms and Munsen Canyon. The final few miles of the Pinto Basin Road descend through the narrow Cottonwood Canyon between the Eagle & Cottonwood mountain ranges, ending at exit 168 of I-10, though another road continues southwards through Box Canyon towards Mecca and the Salton Sea. Just south of the interstate, the unpaved Pinto Road provides some nice places for free camping, far enough from the highway for a quiet night's sleep.
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