Which desert in the western United States is named for an Indigenous people of the region? The answer is the Mojave Desert.
The desert’s name refers to the Mohave people, whose traditional homeland includes parts of the region. “Mojave” is the spelling commonly used for the desert, while “Mohave” is also used in English and by the tribe. The name is connected to the people’s own name, often explained as meaning “beside the water.”
The Mojave occupies parts of southeastern California, southern Nevada, northwestern Arizona and southwestern Utah. It is the smallest and driest of the major deserts of the American Southwest and is recognized ecologically by plants such as the Joshua tree, which is especially associated with the Mojave.
It is often confused with the Sonoran Desert because both extend across the Southwest. The Mojave is generally higher and colder, and it includes Death Valley, the lowest point in North America. The Painted Desert and Great Salt Lake Desert do not take their names from Indigenous peoples.