We visited the Palm Canyon which is part of the Indian Canyons of the Coachella Valley.
Centuries ago the ancestors of the Agu Caliente Cahuilla Indians settled in this area. The valleys provided abundant water for the animals and crops the Indians grew. With all the faults in the area water percolates to the surface to create an palm jungle next to the desert cactus
.
Palm Canyon is one of three valleys with developed trails and other facilities for tourists or locals that want to hike in the area. The Palm Canyon is fifteen miles long and has numerous Washingtonia filifera (California Fan Palm) along the small stream. This palm is unique. It is the only palm native to western United States and is the largest palm in North America. It is the most cold tolerant palm in the world and the dead fronds remain attached to the trunk throughout its hundred-year lifespan. The skirt of fronds makes the palm trees very
susceptible to fire. When lighting strikes a tree it will explode sending flaming leaves in all directions, however more fires are caused by human than lighting. In 1980 two small boys playing with matches started a fire that burned some 60,000 acres. The fire does not kill the palm tree because the only the skirt and green crowns are destroyed. The outer part of the tree will be charred but the palms are monocots which means the sensitive vascular tissue is strewn the moist trunk and not confined to the thin outer layer like most trees. So within a short time the palm have their green crowns with a black trunk. There are over 2,000 palms in this one valley.
We only hiked about two miles from the trading post and then back to and area belo
w the trading post to have a picnic by the stream under the palm trees. The trading post sells all the wonderful things you would expect at a tourist area but the most interesting was the five hummingbird feeder they had place in what once was the information booth. At time five hummingbirds would all be feeding at one time at one of the feeders. This provided a real challenge for me to attempt to get a good picture. I took at least fifty pictures of the hummingbird and did manage to get a few good pictures.
Centuries ago the ancestors of the Agu Caliente Cahuilla Indians settled in this area. The valleys provided abundant water for the animals and crops the Indians grew. With all the faults in the area water percolates to the surface to create an palm jungle next to the desert cactus
.Palm Canyon is one of three valleys with developed trails and other facilities for tourists or locals that want to hike in the area. The Palm Canyon is fifteen miles long and has numerous Washingtonia filifera (California Fan Palm) along the small stream. This palm is unique. It is the only palm native to western United States and is the largest palm in North America. It is the most cold tolerant palm in the world and the dead fronds remain attached to the trunk throughout its hundred-year lifespan. The skirt of fronds makes the palm trees very
susceptible to fire. When lighting strikes a tree it will explode sending flaming leaves in all directions, however more fires are caused by human than lighting. In 1980 two small boys playing with matches started a fire that burned some 60,000 acres. The fire does not kill the palm tree because the only the skirt and green crowns are destroyed. The outer part of the tree will be charred but the palms are monocots which means the sensitive vascular tissue is strewn the moist trunk and not confined to the thin outer layer like most trees. So within a short time the palm have their green crowns with a black trunk. There are over 2,000 palms in this one valley.We only hiked about two miles from the trading post and then back to and area belo
w the trading post to have a picnic by the stream under the palm trees. The trading post sells all the wonderful things you would expect at a tourist area but the most interesting was the five hummingbird feeder they had place in what once was the information booth. At time five hummingbirds would all be feeding at one time at one of the feeders. This provided a real challenge for me to attempt to get a good picture. I took at least fifty pictures of the hummingbird and did manage to get a few good pictures.
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