Mojave National Preserve, created in 1994 in California’s Mojave Desert, protects 1,542,776 acres between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40, making it the largest national preserve and the third largest unit of the National Park System in the contiguous United States. Its vast terrain includes Kelso Dunes, Cima Dome, volcanic features such as Hole-in-the-Wall and the Cinder Cone Lava Beds, and Clark Mountain, the desert’s highest point. The preserve also contains the world’s largest and densest Joshua tree forest, though a 2020 wildfire destroyed 1.3 million trees. Shaped by limited funding and a compromise allowing hunting and ranching, it remains a sparsely developed but ecologically important protected landscape.