Route 66 - Mojave Desert, Arizona

For over a hundred years, the name Mojave (and its alternate spelling, Mohave) has been used to describe 'the people who live along the water' - the Native American tribe who lived there and whose descendants still live there.

The driest desert in the United States, the Mojave boundaries are marked by Joshua trees, which are only native to this area, and also by other desert areas, and both the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountain ranges; both of these are on fault lines, notably the San Andreas fault.

Desert implies a certain lack of population, but the Mojave has urbanised areas, notably Las Vegas, with a population of over two million, and the 29th most populated city in the United States. Founded as a city in 1905, Las Vegas didn't take long to acquire its first casinos. The 1950s also brought nuclear testing, with residents and visitors able to watch the mushroom clouds - and experience the fallout - from testing in the Nevada Desert some 65 miles away.

Known for shopping, gambling, and nightlife, Las Vegas bills itself as 'The Entertainment Capital of the World'. However, before Tom Jones and Elvis headlined at The International, nomadic tribes left their mark on the area around 10,000 years ago.