Petrified Forest National Park, Navajo, Apache, Arizona, United States

Trees and shrubs grow in riparian zones along the park's washes. Willows and cottonwoods are the larger plants, joined by rushes and sedges. There the invasive Eurasian tamarisk, also known as saltcedar, threatens native plants by crowding, using most of the available water, and increasing soil salinity by exuding salt through its leaves.
• Fauna
Some of the larger animals roaming the grasslands include pronghorns, black-tailed jackrabbits (hares), Gunnison's prairie dogs, coyotes, bobcats and foxes. Pronghorns, the fastest land animals in North America, are capable of 60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) sprints. The blood vessels in the huge, thin-walled ears of the jackrabbits act as heat exchangers. These hares are known for their bursts of speed, long leaps, and zigzag routes, all of which protect them from being eaten by golden eagles and other predators. The prairie dogs live in large colonies or "towns", near which many other species find food and shelter. Coyotes dine largely on rodents but also eat fruits, reptiles, insects, small mammals, birds, and carrion.
Bobcats and bullsnakes hunt smaller animals, such as deer mice and white-tailed antelope squirrels in the park's riparian zones. Western pipistrelle bats feast on insects, and pallid bats eat beetles, centipedes, cicadas, praying mantises, scorpions, and other arthropods. On the Painted Desert rim, small animals find food and shelter among the denser foliage, and mule deer sometimes frequent the area.