Plant Zones

In his book, Hiking Death Valley, author Michel Digonnet has developed a table of plant zones, specifying major examples of plants that are found at specific elevations. The statistics that follow are taken from that table:

The Alkaline Sink Zone occurs on valley floors, with plants like the mesquite, salt grass, and pickleweed. The Creosote Bush Zone occurs on alluvial fans, lower washes, and slopes, with plants like the creosote bush, desert holly, and ragweed. The Mixed Shrub Zone occurs in mid to upper canyons and slopes, with plants like blackbrush, cliff rose, and calico cactus. The Sagebrush Zone occurs in upper canyons and slopes, with plants like Mojave rubberbrush, Joshua trees, and rabbitbrush. The Pinyon Pine Zone occurs in upper canyons and slopes, overlapping somewhat with the prior zone, with plants like pinyon pines, mahogany, and Utah juniper. The Limber Bristlecone Pine Zone occurs on the highest of summits, with plants like bristlecone pine, limber pine, and tansybush.