California Desert Facts for Kids

The California Desert is located in North America in the Golden State of California, and comprises of three main deserts namely the Great Basin Desert, Colorado Desert, and the Mojave Desert. The California Desert boasts many tourist attractions including an expanse of wildlife, plants, national parks, landmarks and historical sites.

Explore the most interesting facts about the California Desert with Factsmania. Our printable California Desert fact sheets include important information for kids with key facts about this amazing biome of California, North America from its ecosystem of birds, plants and animals, to its vegetation, climate conditions, formation, size and location.

Interesting California Desert Facts for Kids:- It's free to print out our California Desert facts sheet for school kids and teachers for homework help or a fun classroom activity sheet. Do you know the names of the California Desert? Do you know which type of plants grow in the California Desert? Did you know that the California Deserts are home to many animal species including various types of reptiles, amphibians, birds, insects, arachnids and mammals? Did you know that Death Valley is located in the California Desert and it is one of the hottest places on Earth? Did you know that the term 'desertification' can be defined as the process by which fertile land becomes desert?

Interesting California Desert Facts for Kids:- Our Interesting California Biome Facts for Kids are printable for free. Explore the deserts of North America with fun facts and information about the California Desert wildlife, climate, vegetation, formation, landscape, historical sites, ecosystem and the reason why the California Desert biome is important.

Interesting California Desert Facts for Kids

California Desert Fact File for Kids:- How many deserts are in California: There are three main deserts in California:  The Great Basin Desert, Colorado Desert, and the Mojave Desert***  Location Facts: The California Desert is located in Western United States and eastern, southern California *** National Parks: The California Desert has various National Parks including the Manzanar National Historic Site, Joshua Tree, and the Death Valley *** Annual Rainfall Facts: 7 inches average rainfall per year in the California Desert *** Average Temperature Facts:  73.45 degrees Fahrenheit

Interesting Facts for Kids 1:- Where is the California Desert located?
In the Western United States and eastern, southern California are allocated the Deserts of California in all their majesty. They contain one of the most unique habitats and ecosystems besides their being the home of the ‘Old West’ and its collection of communities, districts, legends and everything there is about it. The various cities and features in this region have made the area a prime tourist destination. Here, we focus on the California Desert biome and what it is made up of.

Interesting Facts for Kids 2:- California Desert Names
The California region has three main deserts namely the Great Basin Desert, Colorado Desert, and the Mojave Desert. The Mojave Desert is the smallest and driest desert of North America, it is bordered on the northwest by the Tehachapi Mountains and the south by the San Bernardino Mountains and San Gabriel. It also reaches out to the borders of Nevada and Arizona. The Colorado Desert is located between the Transverse Ranges and the Colorado River. Together with the Lower Colorado River Valley deserts, they form the Sonoran Desert. The Great Basin Desert is east of the Sierra Nevada cordillera.

Interesting Facts for Kids 3:- California Desert Climate
Given the various aspects about California, the climate is heavily reliant on the proximity to the coast, elevation, and the latitude of the specific region. For the desert regions, the average temperatures are 73.45 degrees Fahrenheit while the annual high temperature is 83.9 degrees Fahrenheit. The annual low temperature is 63 degrees Fahrenheit while the average annual rainfall is about 7 inches each year. Generally, the desert regions are dryer than the rest of the regions.

Interesting Facts for Kids 4:- How big is the California Desert
When combined, the California deserts cover a large area which includes the San Bernardino County, Riverside County, San Diego County, Kern County, Los Angeles County, Imperial County and parts of Mono County and Inyo County. They also cover the Orange County, the Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. In terms of their actual size, the largest desert is the Sonoran Desert which is over 100,000 square miles.

Interesting Facts for Kids 5:- What national parks are there in California?
Having such an expansive reach brings forth the fact that it has a lot to offer especially considering the deserts differ in type from a hot and dry ecosystem to a cold one. Among the national parks in the desert region include the Manzanar National Historic Site, Joshua Tree, and the Death Valley. All these national parks have a lot to offer in terms of their vegetation and the wildlife that resides in them.

Interesting Facts for Kids 6:- The Desert Towns of California
The large area covered by the deserts of California is shared between national parks and human settlements. Among the towns and cities in this area are Lancaster, Palmdale, Victorville, Hesperia, Indio, Apple Valley, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, El Centro, Coachella, Calexico, La Quinta, Adelanto, Ridgecrest, Desert Hot Springs, and Twentynine Palms. The largest of these towns is Lancaster with a population of at least 156,633 people. These desert towns are among the major locations for tourists coming to visit the national parks in the deserts.

Interesting Facts for Kids 7:- Historical Sites in the California Deserts
The Mohave tribe occupied the present-day Mojave Desert while the Chemehuevi and Quechan tribes respectively occupied the Great Basin and Colorado deserts. The events in the region such as the European explorations and the gold rush saw to the creation of various landmarks and historical sites which can be accessed through areas such as Palm Springs Air Museum, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Indian Canyons, Sunnylands, Galleta Meadows, the El Paseo Shopping District and others.

Interesting Facts for Kids 9:- California High Desert
In California, the desert areas that are below 1219.2 meters (4,000 feet) and above 609.9 meters (2,000 feet) are called high desert. In general, the desert areas with these traits are in the Mojave Desert and thus the desert is loosely referred to as the High Desert. The High Desert region is quite unique compared to the rest of the desert areas as it combines the traits of high altitudes with the dry and windy conditions of the deserts.

Interesting Facts for Kids 10:- California Desert Animals
Given the desert conditions in this area, the animals that roam the California wilderness have adaptations to make them suitable to the harsh and mostly dry conditions. Among the animals one would expect on a trip in the Deserts of California include the Mohave Desert sidewinder, western diamond-backed rattlesnake, Gila-monster, desert tortoise, white-footed mouse, kangaroo rat, ground squirrels, black-tailed jackrabbits, spotted bats, spotted skunks, coyotes, desert kit foxes, and the desert bighorn sheep. They are spectacular animals to watch in their natural habitats. Despite its harsh environment, there are all sorts of mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, amphibians, arachnids and arthropods living within the ecosystem of the California Desert.

Interesting Facts for Kids 11:- California Desert Tortoise
One of the animals native to the Deserts of California is the desert tortoise of which there are two species; the Morafka’s desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) and Agassizii’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). The two tortoise species live on either side of the Colorado River and differ in behavior and genetic setup. They are known to live up to 80 years in the wild and can thus live longer in captivity such as zoos. Their growth rate is very slow and so is their rate of reproduction.

Interesting Facts for Kids 12:- California Desert Plants
The plants existing in the Deserts of California are all adapted do the desert conditions and are rarely of large sizes as the smaller sizes help them conserve water. They include the Joshua Tree, Pinyon Pine, Western juniper, saltbush, greasewood, black brush, creosote bush, the Salton Sea saltbush, Sonoran creosote bush, saguaro cactus, sagebrush, Bristlecone pine, Shadscale, Low sagebrush, Utah juniper, Mormon tea, four-wing saltbush, and many others. The plants have small leaves to reduce the rates of evaporation.

Interesting Facts for Kids 13:-  California Desert Conservation Area
Popularly known as the CDCA, the California Desert Conservation area is a region 25 million acres large in southern California that was designated by the Congress in 1976 for purposes of special management. Unlike other Bureau of Land Management areas, the California Desert Conservation Area is managed in a special way with the focus being placed on its proximity to the populated areas in the southern parts of California and other special values the land has. The focus of this plan is to derive the most benefits from the use of the land in this area and the surrounding regions.

Interesting California Desert Facts for Kids