Discovering Californias

250 Montgomery Street

Suite 210
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 398-1111
1615 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 833-2300
1-800-THE-WILD
Our mission is to protect wilderness and inspire
Americans to care for our wild places.
www.wilderness.org
Photo credits:
Front cover L to R: John Dittli; John Dittli, Bob Wick
Bottom: John Dittli
Page 3 John Dittli
Page 4 John Dittli
Page 5 Top: John Dittli
Bottom: Ian Norman, Flickr
Page 6 Top: John Dittli
Bottom: Bob Wick
Page 7 John Dittli
Page 8 John Dittli
Page 9 Top: Bob Wick
Bottom: John Dittli
Page 10 John Dittli
Page 11 Top: Jack Thompson/
The Wildlands Conservancy
Bottom: John Dittli
Page 12 Top: Bob Wick
Bottom: John Dittli
Page 13 SamRoberts
Page 14 John Dittli
Page 15 John Dittli
Back cover: John Dittli
Table of Contents The California desert is a land of stark
contrasts: Extreme heat and bitter cold.
A geology hewn by volcanic re and Ice
Age lakes. Sahara-like dunes shimmer
in the sere heat, and lush green oases
beckon with year-round water.
Guarding this primeval beauty are
pastel-hued mountain ranges and vast
valleys spanning almost endlessly
across the horizon.
It is a place that stirs our imagination
and pioneer spirit.
This is the American West, and its
timeless desert treasures are rich in
culture and heritage. Its where visitors
can see traces of prehistoric peoples,
Spanish and stagecoach trails, and the
origins of the rst U.S. highways.
Life also thrives here, even in the
harshest of conditions.
In the Amargosa River where air
temperatures can soar past 115, or dip
to near freezing a tiny pupsh can
live in salty waters, a holdout froma
wetter climate thousands of years ago.
The desert is also home to bighorn
sheep, desert tortoise, hundreds of
birds, reptiles and many other
animals, all well-adapted to heat
and low precipitation.
Forests ll these wild lands, but
their Joshua trees, spiny cholla and
yucca are more akin to whimsical
Dr. Seuss characters than stately pines.
And after winter rains or summer
thunderstorms, this arid landscape
magically transforms into a eeting
panorama of vibrant wildowers and
blooming shrubs.
The unique legacy of the California
desert attracts residents and visitors
with its spectacular scenery, recreation
opportunities and diverse history.
These delicate wild lands can
continue to be places of discovery
if they are preserved.
Californias desert treasures should be
protected fromrenewable energy and
other development. Safeguarding the
desert will ensure it will be enjoyed
by todays families and generations
to come.
Panamint Valley ............................... 4
Fossil Falls ....................................... 5
Trona Pinnacles ............................... 6
Amargosa River ................................ 7
Silurian Valley .................................. 8
Rainbow Basin ................................. 9
Route 66 ........................................... 10
Whitewater Canyon ......................... 11
Big Morongo Canyon ....................... 12
Chuckwalla Bench ........................... 13
Upper McCoy Valley ......................... 14
Indian Pass/Milpitas Wash ............. 15
I have always loved the desert. One sits down
on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing.
Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams...
- Antoine de Saint-Exupry, The Little Prince
Portions of this document include intellectual property of Esri and its licensors and are used
herein under license. Copyright 2014 Esri and its licensors. All rights reserved.
U.S.A. Federal Lands
Forest Service
Department of Defense
Bureau of Land Management
National Park Service
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Desert Treasures
Roads
County Boundaries
Panamint Valley
Fossil Falls
Trona Pinnacles
Amargosa River
Silurian Valley
Rainbow Basin
Route 66
Whitewater Canyon
Big Morongo Canyon
Chuckwalla Bench
Upper McCoy Valley
Indian Pass/Milpitas Wash
Treasures
Desert
Ice age lakes fed a mighty Owens River
that rushed over black basalt fromvolcanic
eruptions as recent as 20,000 years ago. As
ery lava poured into the river, the rushing
water sculpted and polished the rock into
waterfall-like formations.
Visitors to Fossil Falls can explore this
volcanic landscape by peering over the
steep drops of the now-dry falls. Also, to
the north, a red cinder cone looms. The cone
was formed when underground magma and
gas exploded into the air froma vent on the
Earths surface.
Fossil Falls is also rich in prehistoric
and Native American cultures.
Boulders bear well-worn metate marks
where seeds were ground into food.
Rock rings are the remnants of former
tule grass shelters. And some rocks are
carved with ancient petroglyphs etched
by native peoples.
Early inhabitants also crafted volcanic rock
such as obsidian into tools and spear points.
Today, evidence of this skilled tool making
can still be found in the many stone chips
and akes that litter the ground.
Archaeological sites at Fossil Falls are dated
between 4000 BC and the 19th century.
Indians had thrived here for millennia,
up until the Little Lake Shoshone were
met by the rst European explorers.
Fossil Falls is a short drive off of
Highway 395 and there is a rest area,
picnic tables and restrooms. An easy
trail leads to the falls and theres a
rustic campground.
5
Stop off the highway, and seconds of
absolute silence seemto slow to minutes.
The horizon is unobscured, and a column of
thunderclouds can easily be 10 miles away,
or perhaps 100 ones vision tricked by
the lands emptiness. Sunrises extend their
rst rays onto the magnicent Argus Range
on the west, across Panamint Valley, to the
towering Panamint Range in Death Valley
National Park to the east.
Sitting 1,000 feet above sea level, and
spanning 65 miles fromnorth to south,
Panamint Valley offers a glimpse of its
historic mining legacy, rains that spawn
seasonal wetlands and wildower elds
and side trips to unusual sights.
In the southeastern end of the valley,
a four-wheel drive and hike up Surprise
Canyon will delight visitors with a year-
round cold and clear streamtumbling out
of the mountainside an oasis for humans
and wildlife including desert bighorn sheep.
Mining and history buffs can also ponder the
facts, or ction, of the ghost town Ballarat
that lies near the base of Surprise Canyon.
Much of the valley can be enjoyed by
simply driving. To explore the northern
areas, Highway 190 to Death Valley
offers spectacular views. And when road
conditions allow, take the Trona-Wildrose
Road, a scenic, two-wheel drive route
linking Panamint Valley to the unusual
formations of Trona Pinnacles in
Searles Valley to the south.
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2
Fire and ice conspired to create
dramatic Fossil Falls, a geologic wonder
at the southern tip of the Owens Valley.
Panamint Valleys stunning beauty reveals itself in
the vastness of its wild vistas. A time-travelers dream,
the valley downshifts visitors to natures rhythm.
Panamint Valley
1
Fossil Falls
History
Amargosa River
Located near the southeastern entrance to
Death Valley National Park, the Amargosa
River is a rare perennial waterway in the
Mojave Desert. Dubbed the hide-and-seek
river because much of it is underground,
it surfaces and winds through Amargosa
Canyon, nurturing lush hanging gardens,
marshes and mud ats.
The Amargosas waters sustain a rich tule
marsh habitat attracting bobcat, badger,
the endangered Amargosa vole, the
Amargosa pupsh and more than
200 bird species including Phainopepla
and Summer tanager.
Humans have also been drawn here.
What are believed to be prehistoric paths
later evolved into overland routes including
the Old Spanish Trail used by 1820s
traders in the former Spanish territory.
Early American explorers and Mormons
later favored this route.
Todays travelers can enjoy scenic vistas
off Highway 178 or the Old Spanish Trail
Highway, east toward Pahrump, Nevada.
Well-equipped, four-wheel drive vehicles
can retrace the old Tonopah and
Tidewater railroad bed.
Hikers can access scenic Amargosa Canyon
trails starting at the China Ranch Date Farm.
One path meanders along the river, another
reaches a narrow slot canyon with steep
walls. And an easy one-mile walk connects
to the Grimshaw Lake wildlife site.
Former mining towns also have visitor
activities. Tecopa has hot springs,
and theres a local and natural history
museumin Shoshone.
7
In fact, water played a key role in forming
the unique, often eerie, spires at Trona
Pinnacles. Between 10,000 to 100,000
years ago, this part of the Mojave desert
was underwater and part of the alkaline
Searles Lake. Over time, calciumcarbonate,
in a formknown as tufa, formed
underwater pinnacles.
As the Ice Age receded, Searles Lake,
one in a chain of Pleistocene lakes along
Californias northeast spine, went dry,
exposing several hundred tufa towers.
Today, this alien landscape is popular for
hiking, primitive camping and movie and TV
shoots (including sci- productions Lost In
Space and Battlestar Galactica).
In 1968, Trona Pinnacles was designated a
National Natural Landmark by the Bureau of
Land Management to protect these rare tufa
formations and their curious shapes:
Towers: Taller than they are wide, these
are 30 to 40 feet high, with pointed,
rounded, or at tops.
Tombstones: Denseandsquat,
likeaheadstone, thesecanriseto
20to30feet.
Ridges: These are massive and toothy
tufa expanses. The largest at Trona
Pinnacles is 800 feet long,
500 feet wide and 140 feet tall.
Cones: Less than 10 feet tall, cones
can be pointy or mounded.
To explore Trona Pinnacles, theres a
half-mile hiking trail, dirt driving routes
and primitive camping. Its solitary beauty
is best experienced at sunrise, sunset,
or lit by a full moon.
6
Trona Pinnacles
3 4
When desert winds whisper through Trona Pinnacles,
they resemble the lull of ocean waves heard
through a conch shell.
With its rare year-round desert river, the Amargosa River
region has enticed ancient peoples, wildlife and explorers
for thousands of years.
9
Subtle, multicolored layers of sandstone,
tuff and siltstone are striated in pink,
sienna, green and cream, their hue
and intensity changing fromearly
morning to dusk.
The rock walls and craggy formations
also bear evidence of erosion as well
as earthquake faults that have bent
and folded the earths crust like
saltwater taffy.
Hidden within these layers, and exposed
over time fromerosion, researchers have
identied a signicant trove of mammal
fossils dating back 15 million years.
Fossil plants hint at an ancient landscape
far different fromtoday: tree-lled hills
by a lake, populated by giant bear dogs,
rhinoceros, early camels and horses. Today,
only researchers with a special permit
can collect fossils, to protect this rare and
important site.
Much of Rainbow Basins scenic beauty can
be enjoyed by driving the marked roads,
while walkers can get a closer view on
established hiking trails. Photographers
also are drawn to this unusual landscape
that reveals its character across all seasons.
Four-wheel-drive vehicles can explore
the Fossil Canyon Loop road.
Wildlife thrives here and the best
opportunities to observe animals are
during early morning and evening hours.
Birdwatchers favor Fossil, Coon, and
Owl Canyons. Primitive camping is
available at Owl Canyon Campground.
Today, this vast valley, ringed by desert
mountain ranges, echoes with the vibrant
history of the Old West.
Archaeologists have found traces of
the Old Spanish Trail the bustling,
1,200-mile historic trade route that linked
New Mexico to Los Angeles until the late
1800s. Recently, remnants of a ceramic
smoking pipe, its bowl shaped with the
head of President Zachary Taylor, and other
relics were discovered in Silurian Valley.
Its also a place where winter rains foster
spring wildower blooms and temporary
lakes draw migratory birds.
But the enduring beauty of Silurian Valley
is in the sheer size of the landscape:
a cyclorama vista of expansive valley
guarded by the majestic Avawatz Mountains,
Soda Mountains and Kingston Range and
crowned by endless sky.
The valley also lies between two of
Californias most scenic natural landmarks,
the Mojave National Preserve and Death
Valley National Park, connecting the parks
with nearby wilderness areas.
Standing within Silurian Valley today,
one can imagine what it was like to be
an early explorer heading west to the
promised land of California.
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5
6
Natures soft pastel palette and its artful sculpting of
desert geology lie within the hills, canyons and washes of
the Rainbow Basin Natural Area just north of Barstow.
The remote and beautiful Silurian Valley is named for an
ancient geologic period, when plants and animals began
to emerge from the sea onto land.
Rainbow Basin
Silurian Valley
The rivers canyon, nestled between the
San Jacinto and San Bernardino Mountains,
sustains a rich habitat for bighorn sheep,
bears and endangered species including
Southwestern willow ycatcher and the
Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard.
Winter views are framed by white-capped
rapids and dramatic snow-capped peaks,
while hot summers can dry the river to a
trickle, leaving only underground ows.
One of the best places to explore the area
is at the 2,851-acre Whitewater Preserve,
nearly hidden in a canyon just north of
Interstate 10 near PalmSprings.
Preserve trails offer wilderness mountain
views and some sections intersect the
Pacic Crest National Scenic Trail. Historic
trout ponds, a visitor center and camping
are managed by The Wildlands Conservancy.
In the cooler spring, families can enjoy
bird watching, star gazing and childrens
catch-and-release shing.
Most of the Whitewater Rivers
headwaters start high atop 11,503-foot
Mt. San Gorgonio, Southern Californias
tallest peak, rushing down through alpine
forests to the desert oor far below.

In the 1800s, Spanish explorers dubbed the
river agua blanca or white water for its
turbulent rapids. In 1850, the Whitewater
Ranch was established, later serving as a
stagecoach stopover.
Today, the former cattle ranch is the
preserve, and downstreamthe Whitewater
River eventually disappears underground,
percolating through the arid desert oor,
replenishing a critical aquifer for the
Coachella Valley.
11
By the 1920s and the birth of U.S.
Highway 66 streams of automobiles
were traveling across the Southwest and
the California desert.
Today, the longest remaining undeveloped
stretch of the Mother Road in eastern
San Bernardino County offers spectacular
and serene desert vistas of Old California.
Route 66s unique scenery includes the
Cady Mountains that tower 3,980 feet above
Sleeping Beauty Valleyone of the few
intact Mojave valleys with hundreds of plant
species, some of themrare. This area is also
an essential corridor for desert tortoise and
desert bighorn sheep.
Just beyond these wildower-dappled lands
are several prominent features including:
dramatic Amboy Crater, a National Natural
Landmark; the Pisgah lava ow; the Clipper
Mountains and expansive Fenner Valley.
These former railroad lands are now publicly
owned by the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), and towns along Route 66 are
working with the BLM to preserve its unique
heritage and beauty.
Important historic landmarks include ghost
towns and the Harvey House rail depot
in Barstow. Route 66, also known as the
National Trails Highway, was named by
Smithsonian Magazine as one of
10 Must-See Endangered Cultural Treasures.
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Beneath the aging pavement of historic Route 66 lie the dusty trails
once traveled by hardy pioneers who settled the Old West. Later,
railroads followed these trails and further opened frontier lands.
Its waters nourishing parched lands, the year-round
Whitewater River has enticed explorers, wildlife and visitors
drawn to this rare desert creek for centuries.
Whitewater Canyon
Route 66
13
Located northeast of the Salton Sea, an
aerial view of the bench reveals a bajada
an alluvial fan or triangular sweep of land
striated by washes, nestled between the
Chuckwalla Mountains and the
Chocolate Mountains.
During seasonal storms, the bajadas
irrigation systemsustains a thriving
desert forest of yellow-owering palo verde,
ironwood trees dappled in lilac blooms,
scarlet ocotillo, desert willow with its showy
pink owers, mesquite, Joshua trees and
the rare Munz cholla.
This diverse habitat attracts a rainbow of
bird species including hawks, warblers,
tanagers and hummingbirds. The rarely
seen burro deer, a thriving population
of endangered desert tortoise and the
namesake chuckwalla also live here.
History buffs are drawn to the Bradshaw
Trail, once part of a 70-mile-long
stagecoach route fromthe 1860s named
for miner WilliamDavid Bradshaw. The route
was quickly dubbed the Gold Road for the
many miners traveling to the Arizona gold
elds fromSan Bernardino in search of their
glittering fortunes.
Today, it is a popular four-wheel-drive road
with sweeping mountain and valley vistas,
bighorn sheep sightings, and primitive
desert camping for well-equipped visitors.
Named for the Morongo Indians who thrived
here before the arrival of white settlers,
it is the only spot in the desert where
Big Morongo Creek surfaces and feeds a
verdant marsh and oasis. The creek bubbles
for three miles along a fault in the canyon
before it disappears underground.
Today this 31,000-acre nature preserve is
shaded by a dense canopy of cottonwoods
and willows that make it among the
10 largest river habitats of its type
in California.


Located off Highway 62, southeast of
Morongo Valley (and 15 miles north
of PalmSprings), the preserve is an
internationally recognized bird-watching
destination that draws wildlife seekers
who can view a remarkable diversity of
birds, plants and animals.
The Audubon Society identies Big Morongo
Canyon as one of Californias most important
bird habitat areas and the American Bird
Conservancy considers it one of the United
States Important Bird Areas. Hundreds of
species are seen here including Vermillion
ycatcher, Yellow-breasted chat, Golden
eagle and endangered Least Bells vireo.
Bobcats, desert bighorn sheep, mule deer,
Pacic tree frogs and other animals are
also common.
Big Morongo Canyon is a unique transition
zone and wildlife corridor connecting the
higher Mojave Desert and Joshua Tree
National Park to the lower Colorado Desert.
The canyon is open daily and features trails,
a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk, picnic
facilities, restrooms and trail displays.
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Chuckwalla Bench Big Morongo Canyon
9
10
Like a hidden desert jewel, Chuckwalla Bench is rich with stagecoach
history, a ourishing desert woodland and a cornucopia of wildlife
including endangered desert tortoise and more than 150 bird species.
For centuries, the desert oasis in Big Morongo Canyon
enticed both Native Americans and animals drawn to
its life-sustaining creek.
14
The valley is laced with an intricate array
of alluvial washes, or bajadas, ourishing
with ironwood and palo verde trees. At
the northwest end of the valley, up toward
Palen Pass, is one of the largest and lushest
ironwood forests in the California desert.
Some individual trees are so impressive
scientists have named themthe
Palen Pass Huge Ironwood Trees.
Indians once made tools and weapons
extensively fromironwood because of the
woods durability; it is so dense, it sinks in
water. Ironwood seeds were also a key
food source for tribes.
Natural rock depressions along the
anks of the nearby mountains known as
tanks ll with seasonal rainwater. These
life-giving water sources drew Indians,
explorers and wildlife over the centuries.
Evidence of ancient people can be found in
petroglyphs, cleared circles, used pottery
and groundstones.
Wildlife thrives in the wooded bajadas
including burro deer, coyote, bobcat, gray
fox and mountain lion. Desert tortoise
frequently make their home here.
And bighorn sheep roamthe mountains and
the bajadas and drink at the tanks.
This area, fromthe deep slanted canyons
and jagged peaks of Indian Pass Wilderness
to the old mesquites, palo verde trees, and
ironwoods in Milpitas Wash, hosts a diverse
variety of wildlife. The washes and rocky
slopes are home to desert tortoise and
mule deer. Signs of mountain lion and
bighorn sheep are also evident in nearby
crags and canyons.
For thousands of years, these lands have
been an important part of the traditional
homeland of the Quechan tribe who were
formerly known as Yuma Indians. Ancient
trails, intaglios (large ground etchings),
rock alignments, sleeping circles, remnants
of stone tools and other evidence of
the tribes long history are still found
throughout the area. Many cultural sites are
nearly invisible to the untrained eye but are
still used today by tribal members.
A forest, lush by desert standards, thrives
in the lowlands of the Milpitas Wash region.
Some trees stand almost 15 feet high, and
showy desert willow grows in the washes.
The Quechan buried their relatives on
these lands, and spiritual journeys
through the trails and canyons hold special
signicance to the tribe. It is still possible
to detect ancient trails walked by their
people for generations.
15
Upper McCoy Valley Indian Pass to Milpitas Wash
11 12
Upper McCoy Valley is nestled between the Palen Mountains
and the Little Maria Mountains. Surrounded on three sides
by the Palen-McCoy wilderness, it is remote and primitive.
Driving south along Highway 78 from Blythe, past the
Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, one crosses Milpitas Wash.
Nearby, the Chocolate Mountains rise from the desert oor.