The Destruction of the Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert is “the desert of definition for so many Americans,” according to Reyner Banham in his book Scenes in America Deserta (qtd. in Darlington iii). He continues, “It is the best-known, most visited, and most studied of American deserts; but it is also […] studied, loved, quarreled over” (iii). The Mojave Desert is truly a special place. It seems to silently beckon people. Tourists come year-round to see this supposedly dead and inhospitable land for themselves. However, upon arrival, travelers realize that the Mojave Desert is not the wasteland that some make it out to be. In his book The Desert, published in 1901, John C. Van Dyke illustrates this fascination with the Mojave Desert: 

The weird solitude, the great silence, the grim desolation, are the very things with which every desert wanderer eventually falls in love. You think that very strange, perhaps? Well, the beauty of the ugly was sometime a paradox, but today [sic] people admit its truth; and the grandeur of the desolate is just as paradoxal, yet the desert gives it proof. (qtd. in Darlington ii-iii) 

The Mojave Desert has a sort of indefinable charm that draws people to it and causes many of them to stay. However, as more people realize that the Mojave Desert is not, in fact, an inhospitable wasteland, developers have begun to come and swallow the beautiful land through the indifferent evil of construction and of human expansion. As more development impinges upon the Mojave Desert, its untouched expanses, natural wonders, and manmade curios – the things that give the area its intrinsic charm – are being destroyed. This slow assimilation of the Mojave Desert has been happening since the 1700’s, but in today’s technological age it has become notably disturbing. If this development continues, the Mojave Desert will be swallowed until only a memory of its beautiful wilderness remains. The violation of the Mojave Desert must be stopped before this beautiful and unique land is permanently altered beyond recognition.