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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
The official Twitter feed of Joshua Tree National Park. 792,510 acres of wild and scenic desert, rich with natural beauty and cultural history. #FindYourPark
Californianps.gov/jotrBorn August 10, 1936Joined March 2009
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108.4K Followers

Joshua Tree NPS’s Tweets

Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
If you hear "bzzzzz bzz bzzz" while you are in the park, it means "I'm thirsty" in bee. During the dry desert summer, bees are on the hunt for water. They are attracted to open water, sweat from our bodies, & condensation from your car air conditioner. Don't bee surprised!
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
“Twenty thousand roads I went down, down, down, and they all led me straight back home to you.” ~ Gram Parsons National parks and public lands can feel like a spiritual home to many people. Where is your (spiritual) home away from home?
Person standing on a rock formation next to a road and watching a colorful sunrise.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Too hot to handle! There is an excessive heat warning forecasted in Joshua Tree. Take note of this desert tortoise's survival strategy and consider staying in bed. Burrows are an important way for wildlife to survive through extreme desert temperatures.
A desert tortoise lying down in a shallow burrow. NPS / Hannah Schwalbe
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Put on your metaphorical flat hat. Let’s work together to conserve our national treasures for generations to come.
Photo of Rangers talking with kids and adults with Joshua trees in the background. Caption on photo says Collaboration. When rangers and the public work together to conserve our national parks.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Starting today, June 1, the 49 Palms Trail will be closed to allow bighorn sheep undisturbed access to the oasis water. Under current drought conditions, herds must rely on this water to survive. The closure will remain until summer monsoons increase water availability.
A group of palm trees with a rocky desert mountain in the background
An adult and baby bighorn sheep
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Today firefighters held the perimeter of the Elk Fire at around 431 acres. The fire is 75% contained, and firefighters continue work towards full suppression. The area around the Elk Fire remains closed, but there are no other closures in the park.
A firefighter with a shovel in a burned desert landscape.
An aerial view of a burned area and a line of pink fire retardant.
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Joshua Tree NPS Retweeted
San Bernardino County Fire
@SBCOUNTYFIRE
Elk Fire (Evening Update) ➡️Approximately 250 acres & 25% contained, forward rate stopped ➡️Unified Command NPS ➡️Structure threat mitigated, no evacuations in place ➡️No structure loss / damage ➡️FF on-scene working on mop-up, containment lines & patrolling area.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
The park had a lot of growth this spring. Joshua tree buds became flowers and then fruits, baby quail became teenage quail, and a new visitor facility sprouted?? The new Joshua Tree Cultural Center is open today at 6533 Freedom Way, Twentynine Palms. Check it out!
A large building with flags flying and parking spaces out front.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Summer desert sunsets may be beautiful, but the heat is not. Remember SWEBS. S - Snacks W - Water, E - Early start to the day. End your adventure by 9 or 10 am. B - Buddy up by hiking with a friend and letting a buddy know your plan S - Sun protection SWEBS!
A sunsetting over the mountains with silhouettes of Joshua trees in the foreground. Photo by NPS / Brad Sutton
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Reminder that today at 5 pm the Oasis Visitor Center (OVC) is closing permanently. Rangers will staff information tables outside OVC until the new Joshua Tree Cultural Center officially opens on May 7, 2022. Other park visitor centers remain open during this transition.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
On May 2, 2022 at 5 pm, the Oasis Visitor Center will close permanently. The new Joshua Tree Cultural Center will officially open on May 7, 2022 at 6533 Freedom Way in the town of Twentynine Palms! During this transition, other park visitor centers will remain open.
Two signs, one says, Administration and the other says, Visitor Center.
A large building and parking spaces.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
"My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature." - Claude Monet Tag the person you'd like to spend time with in this corner of nature! 📸 NPS Photo / Carmen Aurrecoechea
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
What does Joshua Tree mean to you? Beautiful, wild, surprising, challenging, and inspiring—we all find our own meaning in our public lands! 📸: NPS / Emily Hassell
A woman in a yellow shirt walks towards the setting sun as it paints the landscape of Joshua trees and desert plants in a golden hue.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
What do you think life would be like if you had scales?🦎 Made of keratin—the same protein that makes up your fingernails—scales protect reptiles from predators, provide camouflage, prevent water loss, & help with mating! They just have to be sloughed off every now and then..
A close-up of the blue and brown scales on a lizard's face.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
The highest mountains of Joshua Tree are cooler & wetter than our lower-elevation deserts, often home to dense woodlands of Single-leaf Piñon pine, California juniper, & many types of oak—species that couldn't survive at lower elevations in the park. 📸: NPS / Michael Faist
A boulder-strewn high elevation forest with mountains in the distance.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
While the desert may be known for its shades of brown, here at Joshua Tree we are working on adding solar panels to our facilities and greener vehicles to our fleet! Reducing our carbon footprint is an important measure to protect the desert. How can you #ShowUsYourGreen?
solar panels on a building surrounded by desert vegetation and rocks
a close up of the word hybrid, on a white vehicle. Photo by NPS / Brad Sutton
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
If you're a lizard caught by a predator, detaching your tail is a last hope for escape—a still-wiggling tail provides a useful getaway distraction! While the strategy (called autotomy) can be very effective, as seen with this western side-blotched lizard, it doesn't always work.
A detached lizard tail, and the lizard that lost it, caught in the bill of a roadrunner.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
🎶I get knocked down, but I get up again🎶 This Joshua tree grew over 10' tall before falling over, but its still alive! Thanks to an intact root system, it overcame the new orientation and send three shoots up to the sky. This is not unusual either, desert plants are resilient!
A still-alive fallen joshua tree sends three new shoots up to a blue sky.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
To be fair, varnish is not the only reason rocks can be colorful: there are also colorful lichens, and the fact that rocks themselves have different colors. This photo just happens to capture desert varnish well!
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Why is the rock in Joshua Tree multi-colored? Desert varnish! Varnish is a layer of orange-black mineral build-up on the surface of rocks in the desert. It can take a long time for this layer to form, studies of petroglyphs in Joshua Tree reveal varnish that's 2,000+ years old!
A precariously perched granite boulder with different colors of desert varnish.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
An "invasive species" is defined as: A) An exotic or non-native species introduced to a new environment. B) Who is also causing harm to their new environment. National #InvasiveSpeciesWeek strives to raise awareness of their impacts. Do you know of any invasive species near you?
Dry cheatgrass beneath a smoky sky.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
With highs near 80°F ☀️ and lows near freezing ❄️, this week's forecast will reward people who plan for all kinds of weather. What do you pack in your bag to beat the heat, and stay warm in the cold? #planlikeaparkranger 📸: NPS / Emily Hassell
A woman packing a blue backpack on the hood of her car.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Hoot, hoot, it's Superb Owl Sunday! Here are some owl facts: 🦉Joshua tree is home to 5 species of owls! 👀 Owl eyes are fixed in place, pointing forward. If they want to look to the side, they have to turn their heads 😵‍💫Conveniently, owls can turn their heads 270° around
Juvenile great horned owls in a joshua tree.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
How do Joshua trees stay upright? Roots! One tree can have thousands of pencil-width roots, growing so densely they shut out other plants While roots can reach 18' in length, the root system is shallow, so Joshua trees are vulnerable to strong winds, hammocks, & climbing people.
Roots of a fallen Joshua tree
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Back in the day, if Hollywood needed characters to land on an "alien planet," they sent them to the Mojave 🖖 In reality, you don't need a spacesuit to visit Joshua Tree. But you may still encounter a "sci-fi" mystery—like Joshua trees cloning themselves! 📸 NPS / Michael Faist
Three young Joshua tree stems growing close together.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
If Punxsutawney Phil lived here, he'd probably see his shadow every year. Joshua Tree doesn't have any groundhogs, but we do have 4 species of squirrels! (that's right, groundhogs are squirrels) This is a white-tailed antelope ground squirrel, can you name the other 3 species?
Ground squirrel standing on hind legs.
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Joshua Tree NPS
@JoshuaTreeNPS
Today is National Fun at Work Day! Rangers work a lot: they help visitors, lead trips, study tortoises, fix toilets, maintain trails, & more. But even with all of that on their plate, they still find time to have fun. On your next visit, we hope you do too! 📸NPS/Shay Spatz
A uniformed ranger smiling at the camera while holding a desert tortoise.
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