Washington County is a county in the southwestern corner of Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 180,279, making it the fifth-most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is St. George. The county was created in 1852 and organized in 1856. It was named after the first President of the United States, George Washington. A portion of the Paiute Indian Reservation is in western Washington County. Washington County comprises the St. George, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area.
St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northeasternmost part of the Mojave Desert, immediately south of the Pine Valley Mountains, which mark the southern boundary of the Great Basin. St. George lies slightly northwest of the Colorado Plateau, which ends at the Hurricane Fault. The city is 118 miles (190 km) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 300 miles (480 km) south-southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, on Interstate 15.
Utah Lake is a shallow freshwater lake in the center of Utah County, Utah, United States. It lies in Utah Valley, surrounded by the Provo-Orem metropolitan area. The lake's only river outlet, the Jordan River, is a tributary of the Great Salt Lake. Evaporation accounts for 42% of the lake's outflow, which leaves the lake slightly saline. The elevation of the lake is at 4,489 feet (1,368 m) above sea level. If the lake's water level rises above that, the pumps and gates on the Jordan River are left open. Recently the lake has been at a lower level because of a drought.
Yucca brevifolia is a plant species belonging to the genus Yucca. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names.
The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million specimens, is the second largest in North America, behind that of the New York Botanical Garden. The Index Herbariorum code assigned to the herbarium is MO and it is used when citing housed specimens.
The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about 162 miles (261 km) long. It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the centennial celebration of Zion National Park.
Desert Botanical Garden is a 140-acre (57 ha) botanical garden located in Papago Park, at 1201 N. Galvin Parkway in Phoenix, central Arizona.
The Muddy River, formerly known as the Moapa River, is a short river located in Clark County, in southern Nevada, United States. It is in the Mojave Desert, approximately 60 miles (97 km) north of Las Vegas.
The June sucker is an endangered species of fish endemic to Utah Lake and the Provo River in the U.S. state of Utah. It is named after the month in which it spawns. It is a gray or brownish fish with a paler belly, growing up to about 24 in (61 cm). It lives alongside the Utah sucker, which has a much wider range. Due to the populations of both fish becoming greatly reduced in the lake as a result of fishing, other species such as the common carp have been introduced into the lake. As a result, the June sucker has become "critically endangered" as the pure species is lost as a result of hybridization with the Utah sucker, and predatory fish feed on its larvae. Conservation measures have been put in place and fish are being raised in a fish hatchery for reintroduction.
The razorback sucker is a suckerfish found in rivers and lakes in the southwestern United States and formerly northwestern Mexico. It can grow to 91 cm (3 ft) in length and is recognisable by the keel between its head and dorsal fin. It used to inhabit much of the Colorado River Basin but commercial fishing, river damming, and habitat loss have caused great declines in populations. It is now restricted to the Colorado River upstream of the Grand Canyon and to four reservoirs, Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, Lake Havasu, and Lake Powell.
Berberis repens commonly known as creeping mahonia, creeping grape holly, or creeping barberry, is a species of Berberis native to most of the western United States and two western provinces of Canada. It is low growing shrub that spreads by underground stems. As a species it is well adapted to fire and is a very common understory plant in western forests. An evergreen species, it provides food to deer and elk in winter and can make up a significant part of their diet. The berries are eaten by birds and small mammals, aiding it in spreading to recently disturbed areas. It has found use as a xeric ornamental plant and has escaped from cultivation in areas beyond its native range.
The St. George Village Botanical Garden is a botanical garden with arboretum located at 127 Estate St. George, Frederiksted, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is open daily except Christmas; an admission fee is charged.
Agave shawii is a species of monocarpic succulent plant in the genus Agave, commonly known as Shaw's agave. It is a rosette-forming plant characterized by glossy, green leaves with toothed margins. After several years of slow growth, the plant puts all of its resources to produce a towering stalk of flowers, and then dies. The death of the flowering rosette is compensated by the growth of numerous clonal pups. This species is segregated into two subspecies, one native to the coast of southwestern California and northwestern Baja California, known commonly as the coast agave, and another native to the Baja California desert, known as the Goldman agave.
The bonytail chub or bonytail is a cyprinid freshwater fish native to the Colorado River basin of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the southwestern United States; it has been extirpated from the part of the basin in Mexico. It was once abundant and widespread in the basin, its numbers and range have declined to the point where it has been listed as endangered since 1980 (ESA) and 1986 (IUCN), a fate shared by the other large Colorado basin endemic fish species like the Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, and razorback sucker. It is now the rarest of the endemic big-river fishes of the Colorado River. There are 20 species in the genus Gila, seven of which are found in Arizona.
Eriogonum umbellatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name sulphurflower buckwheat, or simply sulphur flower.
Xeriscaping is the process of landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water and has gained acceptance in other regions as access to irrigation water has become limited, though it is not limited to such climates. Xeriscaping may be an alternative to various types of traditional gardening.
A cactarium or cactuario is a garden dedicated to the planting of cacti. While they generally specialize in collecting cacti, they can also include other desert plants such as sabla, agaves or Crassulaceae, although this would better be termed "xeriscaping".
Brad Stewart Lancaster is an expert in the field of rainwater harvesting and water management, sun & shade harvesting and community-stewarded native food forestry. He is also a permaculture teacher, designer, consultant, live storyteller and co-founder of the Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood Foresters, and Desert Harvesters, both non-profit organizations.
Astragalus holmgreniorum is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common names Holmgren milk-vetch and paradox milk-vetch. It is native to a tiny section of desert shrub woodland on the border between Utah and Arizona, in the far northern Mojave Desert. There are six populations remaining. It is a federally listed endangered species.
Desert City is a plant nursery and botanical garden in San Sebastián de los Reyes, near Madrid, Spain, that cultivates and sells xerophytic plants, including cacti, succulents and native plants from the Mediterranean region. It is Europe's largest cactus garden. Desert City was founded by Jacobo García-Germán, an architect, and Mercedes García, a former pharmaceuticals executive.
