The
deserts
of Southern California occupy a quarter of the state. Untouched but for the three million acres used for military bases, this hot and often inhospitable wilderness exerts a powerful fascination for venturesome travelers. There are two distinct regions: the
Colorado
or
Low Desert
in the south, which is the most easily reached from LA, containing the opulent artificial oasis of
Palm Springs
and the primeval expanse of
Joshua Tree
; and the
Mojave
or
High Desert
, dominated by
Death Valley
and stretching along Hwy-395 up to the sparsely populated
Owens Valley
, infamous as the place from which the city of Los Angeles stole its water.
It is impossible to do justice to this area without your own wheels. Palm Springs can be reached on public transportation, but only the periphery of Joshua Tree is accessible and it's a long hot walk to anywhere very interesting. You can get as far as Barstow on Greyhound and Amtrak, but no transportation traverses Death Valley, leaving only the Owens Valley with its daily Greyhound service between LA and Reno
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