Chris Clarke
Chris Clarke was KCET's Environment Editor until July 2017. He is a veteran environmental journalist and natural history writer. He lives in Joshua Tree.
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A sea of sagebrush may appear monotonous to the casual observer, but it turns out sagebrush is a pretty complex thing.
Tap water in Valley cities contains the known human carcinogen hexavalent chromium in concentrations that far exceed maximum levels proposed by the State of California, according to a study.
When I first started falling in love with the deserts, I rushed past places like this to get to the interesting stuff, but it took me a while to realize just what I was speeding past.
At places like Murray's Dude Ranch in Apple Valley the history of African-American people in the desert mainly involved kicking back, enjoying a break from the grind of mid-20th-century city life and drinking in that clean, high-desert air.
Unless these storms bring Southern California some much-needed rain this week, most of the California desert isn't going to have a stunning spring wildflower display this year.
Prejudice against African-Americans can still be found, and the wealthier cities in the West Valley are almost as segregated as they were when such discrimination was still legal, but without pioneers like Nobles and Crossley the divisions might have r...
Residents of the Lanfair Valley may well have enjoyed more relative freedom, and less hatred, than any other African-Americans in the U.S.
The deadly, highly contagious disease affects dozens of animal species, including coyotes. The virus is mainly spread through contact with infected bodily fluids, urine among them.
Few wild animals inspire in people the complex mix of affection and loathing that coyotes do. That's a shame.
Saturday's winds were an impressive reminder that for all the Coachella Valley's seeming domestication, despite our manicured lawns, fountains, and irrigated gardens, we still live in the desert.
Miles of desert scruff may summon up only middle-of-nowhere feelings, but take a closer look and you'll be spotting plants that can or have lived thousands of years.