The Coachella Valley Preserve, a 2,206-acre (8.93 km2) area, is maintained by the non-profit Nature Conservancy and is one of the few in the desert with an oasis fed by natural springs that supports the only California native palm, the Washingtonia filifera, or California Fan Palm.
The San Andreas Fault, visible from the valley floor as a line of greenery along the base of the hills, captures groundwater that nurtures the palms.
[1] Naturally occurring artesian ponds provide habitat for the Desert pupfish, a small, endangered species of freshwater fish - roughly the size of a young goldfish.
These ponds are part of the self-guided tour among the California Fan Palm groves.
The Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a restricted access habitat for the Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard, listed as an endangered species in California, a threatened species in the United States and the IUCN classifies it as endangered.