Where there are no streets to have names

July 21, 2008 2:22 PM

I'm writing a book set in a location similar to Joshua Tree National Park, and I'd like recommendations on resources for learning more about the area.

It's a bit of a fantasy story (children/YA), so I'll be taking liberties with the setting, but I'd like to have a good idea of the actual flora, fauna and geography before I start mucking it up.

I thought I could do some basic research myself via Google/Flickr, but the incredibly large amount of sites and photos out there are hard to wade through and poorly marked. I'd like reliable information on what's depicted in a photograph, the geological history of the park, its major sources of water, the weather, the elevations as well as any myths or legends relating to the area, weird little creatures particularly fond of the place or something you heard about it once that might be worth my checking out.

posted by tyrantkitty to science & nature (4 comments total)

The National Park site is good, but your best bet may be to go to the library and look through guidebooks, which tend to have a lot of this sort of detail.
posted by judith at 4:26 PM on July 21, 2008

Flora, Fauna, and a little geology/ecology.

Some pictures of wildflowers.
posted by kirstk at 5:45 PM on July 21, 2008

This is going to sound a bit silly, but go camping there for a few days and talk to the park rangers. I did this as a fun camping trip several years ago, and talking to the park rangers (about everything from camping there in the winter to strange things that happen there) was the best part of the trip. Plus, falling asleep and waking up there will give you an intimacy with the environment that should make it easier for you to connect to it and write inside it.
posted by davejay at 6:13 PM on July 21, 2008

This is going to sound a bit silly, but go camping there for a few days and talk to the park rangers. I did this as a fun camping trip several years ago, and talking to the park rangers (about everything from camping there in the winter to strange things that happen there) was the best part of the trip. Plus, falling asleep and waking up there will give you an intimacy with the environment that should make it easier for you to connect to it and write inside it.


I'm going to second this answer. I live nearby and have taken several overnight trips. Also, you're reasonably clsoe to the Salton Sea, and if a childrens fantasy book is what you have in mind, Salton Sea is a great setting that might give you some ideas.
posted by door2summer at 6:24 PM on July 21, 2008