Introduction

Some people perceive arid areas as “God-forsaken wasteland.” Bury and Luckenbach (Chapter 10) point out that some people are unaware of the rich life found in arid areas. Peter Aleshire (1979, p. 143) reports for

The Desert Sun

in Palm Springs that:

The public is just beginning to realize the value of this arid region. The sun-seared mountains offer geologic histories stretching back 600 million years. The harsh environment has wrung fascinating biological adaptations from a rich variety of plants and animals which live there. And ancient Indian cultures have left their artifacts scattered throughout the region. It is a land which harbors the oldest living things: the lowly creosote bush, which some botanists claim can live to be 10,000 years old. The marks of wind and rain on the land are clear, but scientists have also found square miles of ground covered with pebbles which have not been moved for thousands of years. It is one of the most easily scarred landscapes in the world, and perhaps the slowest to heal.