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Death Valley National Park Nandish Pathak A biome is classified as areas that are similar either climactically or geographically, with similar conditions including plant, animal, and soil organism communities, and are similar to ecosystems. An ecosystem is an area where the organisms are constantly interacting with one another and with the environment around them. Desert biomes are biomes that require only a little amount of moisture for its inhabitants to survive. They receive very little rainfall and have a very arid climate. Deserts found near the equator are very warm and dry, while those found in the arctic are extremely cold. Both have very little vegetation. Death Valley National Park is the epitome of hot desert biomes. Located in the Mojave Desert near the California and Nevada border, Death Valley is one of the driest and hottest places in North America with daily summer temperatures reaching 120 degrees. It is also home to the lowest point in North America, the Badwater basin reaching 282 feet below sea level, and one of the highest with Telescope Peak at 11,049 feet above sea level. The plants found in Death Valley are mostly small shrubs and flowering plants, as well as a few cacti. The animals found in Death Valley are similar to that of other hot desert biomes, which include a large variety of reptiles, small mammals, and birds. There are a few large mammals, like the Big Horn Sheep, as well as some amphibians like bullfrogs and toads, some of which are introduced species.

Contents: >> >> >> >>
 * 1) The Powers that Control Us: the Various Factors dictating this biome
 * Includes: Biotic, Abiotic, and Limiting Factors
 * 1) Energy Productivity
 * Includes: Energy Pyramid
 * 1) Carnivores get hungry too…: Predators and prey
 * Includes: Food web, predator-prey relations, and the role of predation
 * 1) Impact of Humans Activity
 * Includes: one biogeochemical cycle
 * 1) “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”
 * Includes: Predictions of the future
 * 1) The Good, the Bad, and the Endangered: the Various Organisms
 * Includes: Producers (the good), Consumers (the bad) and the endangered
 * 1) How We All Came to Be: Succession
 * Includes: Primary and secondary succession [[image:http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/death_valley.jpg caption="http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/death_valley.jpg"]]