Mohave desert scrubs transitions to juniper trees at elevations of about 4000 feet on the monument.
NPS/
The most prevalent forest or woodland on the Monument is Pinyon-Juniper. These forests are often confused as bearing a single species of tree however, these full shrubby looking trees are three separate species; single leaf and two leaf pinyon pine, and Utah juniper. Pinyon pine generally grows in the transition zone between the lower elevation juniper (4,000 to 7,500 ft) and at the edge of ponderosa pine forests (6,500 to 8,000 ft on the Monument).
Pinyon-Juniper forests are greatly influenced by moisture availability. Much of this moisture comes from monsoon rain in the late summer and snow in the winter. These trees make the most of their limited resources by concentrating moisture, soil, organic material and nutrients beneath their canopies, creating “islands” of higher fertility.
Last updated: January 9, 2020
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Mailing Address:
Public Lands Visitor Center
345 East Riverside Drive
Saint George,
UT
84790
Phone:
(435) 688-3200
This federal interagency office is staffed by employees from the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S National Forest Service, and by dedicated volunteers from the local community. Phones are answered Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The visitor center is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and all federal holidays.
