Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Established as a national park: Oct. 31, 1994.

Area: 792,749 acres.

Visitors: 1,320,891 in 1999.

Location: 140 miles east of Los Angeles.

Flora and fauna: Joshua tree forests, fan palms, California junipers, ocotillos, cholla cactuses and Mojave yuccas — along with other plants and wildflowers — dot the desert floor. Creatures include bobcats, burrowing owls, kangaroo rats, tarantulas, sidewinder rattlesnakes, stinkbugs, yucca night lizards, coyotes, roadrunners and golden eagles.

Entrance fee: $10 per car, valid for seven days.