The national park was established to protect ecosystems and cultural features unique to the region, particularly the Joshua tree , a tall, tree-like yucca that provides habitat for birds and other small animals and holds cultural significance. The national park protects the southernmost populations of the Joshua tree. Palaeo-biological data from packrat  middens and fossilised dung of the extinct Shasta ground sloth  show that Joshua trees grew 13,000-22,000 years ago across a wider range, extending as far as 300 km south into what is now México . A major retraction of this range began ~11,700 years ago, coinciding with warming of approximately 4℃, caused by Milankovitch cycles, which
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