SECRETS OF CALIFORNIA DESERTS is a collection of interesting, colorful, and engaging stories related to the place we call the Old West. There are Indian legends, stories of desert cities, places, people. Do you know why the Death Valley is called the Death Valley? Who was the Queen of Death Valley and is there an underground city there? What is Salvation Mountain? How was the Salton Sea formed? Who lives in the desert and why is the desert tree called the Joshua tree? Who were the indigenous inhabitants of the California deserts and what happened during the California Gold Rush? These are just a few of Catherine's many interesting desert stories about how the Wild West was conquered to be found in this book.