Desert Varnish - Rugged mountain peaks and sun-baked boulders throughout the arid Southwest are often colored in beautiful shades of orange, green, yellow and gray. At first glance the colorful coatings resemble a layer of paint, but close examination reveals that this unusual phenomenon is caused by a thin layer of microscopic organisms. The organisms include colonies of bacteria called "desert varnish," and colonies of symbiotic algae and fungi called lichens.

Desert varnish microbes generally survive better than lichens on the driest, sun-baked boulders. On boulders where lichens are established, the varnish bacteria do not survive as well. This may be related to a moisture difference or to organic acids produced by the lichens. These miniature rock dwellers have survived for countless centuries in some of the most seemingly inhospitable environments on earth and may represent some of the oldest living colonial life forms. More...

The Southern Pacific Rattlesnake - The southern Pacific rattlesnake is one of the nine subspecies of western rattlesnakes which range across much of the western United States, Mexico and Canada. Like its relatives, the southern Pacific rattlesnake has a relatively hefty body and stubby tail, a triangular-shaped head, hooded eyes and elliptical pupils. Like not only rattlesnakes but also like the cottonmouth water moccasins and the copperheads, the southern Pacific rattler has a small opening, or heat-sensing organ called a loreal pit, on each side of its face, between its nostrils and eyes, giving it membership in the subfamily called "pit vipers." More...

The Lost Ship in the Desert - Of all the legends about lost and found and lost again treasures in the Southwest, there is none more mystifying than the enduring tale of a large sailing vessel which lies, full of riches, somewhere in the restless sands of California's Salton Sea basin, toward the southern end of the Mojave Desert.

Implausible as it sounds, the wreck of an ocean-going ship 100 miles or more inland from either the Pacific or the Gulf of California, the story has persisted for centuries in reports from Indian peoples, Spanish explorers, prospectors, migrants and treasure hunters. More...

Old Plank Road - Picture yourself back in 1918 trying to cross the burning desert of Imperial County. You reach the treacherous Imperial Sand Dunes and face the challenge of a seamless ocean of sand. With relief and anxiety you begin to ascend the first dune on the Plank Road.

The heat, swirling sand, and jarring ride across the rough planks makes you nauseous, but you are grateful since this new route offers safety and cuts many hours off the adventurous trip across the desert. More...