Joshua Tree National Park is a U.S. National Park in southeastern California, spanning parts of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Named after the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), it is located about 130 miles east of Los Angeles and 78 miles east of San Bernardino, near cities like Indio, Palm Desert, and Palm Springs. Originally designated a national monument in 1936, it became a national park in 1994 under the California Desert Protection Act. The park covers 795,156 acres slightly larger than Rhode Island and includes 429,690 acres of designated wilderness. It contains two distinct desert ecosystems, the higher Mojave Desert and the lower Colorado Desert, with the Little San Bernardino Mountains along its southwest edge.

The area has a long human history. The earliest known residents were the Pinto Culture people (8000–4000 BCE), followed by the Serrano, Cahuilla, and Chemehuevi peoples, who lived near water sources and relied on plants and small game. The Mojaves used the area as a travel corridor between the Colorado River and the Pacific coast. Today, descendants of these groups, such as the Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians, still live nearby. European contact began in 1772 with Pedro Fages’ expedition, followed by Mexican explorers and American fur trappers. After the Mexican–American War, the U.S. gained control of California and the future parkland.