Interstate 15 Freeway, San Diego to Salt Lake – through the Mojave Desert
Tag: Mojave Desert
Siberia
Siberia was originally a Santa Fe Railroad water stop and siding. When the National Old Trails Road and Route 66 passed by, service stations, cafes, and tourist camps operated out of there, providing the desert traveler comfort, fuel, and mechanic services. (Photos 2001)
Leadfield
Leadfield Ghost Town, Death Valley
“Leadfield’s legacy is the road through Titus Canyon. A narrow, twisting canyon that would have been avoided by road builders any other time, but the reports of potential riches were too appealing. . . .
Petroglyph Site – 2004
Pioneertown
Marl Spring
/marl-springs/
Marl Springs is a historical site located in the Mojave Desert National Preserve in California. The area has significance due to its role as a water source for travelers and settlers in the desert region. Here’s a brief history of Marl Springs:
- Native American Presence: The Mojave Desert has a long history of Native American habitation. The Chemehuevi and Mojave people were among the indigenous groups living in the area. These Native American communities deeply understood the desert environment and its resources.
- Exploration and Early Settlement: In the 19th century, the Mojave Desert attracted explorers, pioneers, and prospectors seeking new opportunities. The Mojave Road, a route through the Mojave Desert, and Marl Springs became a crucial water source for travelers along this route.
- Military Use: During the mid-1800s, the U.S. Army established a military presence in the Mojave Desert. With its reliable water source, Marl Springs was a strategic location for military operations and a resting point for troops moving through the region.
- Mining Activity: Like many areas in the Mojave Desert, Marl Springs saw mining activity during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Prospectors sought minerals such as gold and silver in the surrounding hills, contributing to the region’s development.
- Railroad Expansion: The railroad‘s arrival led to changes in transportation patterns, reducing the importance of some stagecoach routes. However, Marl Springs retained significance for those traveling by road or seeking water in the desert.
- Mojave Desert National Preserve: In 1994, the preserve was established to protect the unique desert ecosystem and preserve its cultural and historical resources. Marl Springs is now part of this national preserve, allowing visitors to explore its historical remnants and appreciate its role in the region’s past.
Today, Marl Springs stands as a testament to the challenges and opportunities the Mojave Desert presents, showcasing the intersection of natural resources, human history, and the development of transportation routes in the American West.
Kwanami
The dream world was as important to the Mojave People as was the physical world. It was from this dream state instruction was given that would guide them to their destiny.
The Mojave Warrior was as brutal and violent in battle as his enemy. Even more so, not only because of strength and endurance but because those who had bad dreams; dreams of death and misfortune, were left behind in the villages with the women so as not to bring a curse to the war.
Among the small and dangerous bands were mixed the Kwanami. They were the elite warrior captains. The Kwanami were said to have dreamed of war and the death of their opponents in the womb before their birth. Their dreams would be of ripping lion and bear creatures apart with bare hands and emerging from the dust victorious and unscathed.
The Kwanami lived apart from the rest of the Mohave People, in the south of the valley where Mastamho, the God-son, fought with the serpent under the three peaks. It was here they would fast and meditate on the death of their opponents and the art of warfare.
These men who were stoic and impervious to heat, cold, hunger, and pain, would practice with their war bows and clubs in order to be the most effective in ministering death to their foes.
Hesperia Rock Show
Rocks & Gems – 2018
Geology List
Geology Thumbnail Index
California’s geomorphic provinces are naturally defined geologic regions that … Earthquakes & Faults · San Andreas Fault. Summary of the earthquake fault …
Heteromyid rodents from Miocene faunas of the Mojave Desert, Southern California. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Science Series 41; p. 213-236.
Red Rock Canyon California State Park. The geologic story of Red Rock Canyon is told by its …
California/Nevada Death Valley Regional Geology. Field Trip Guide. Walk Through Time. Badwater with Telescope …
Mesozoic Rocks. Source – NPS, Cinder cones national natural landmark. Kelso Dunes, Mojave Preserve, Eastern Mojave Desert Banshee …
The Mojave Desert – Shaping the Classic American Desert
The area of most dramatic relief is around Death Valley, California, where the elevation drops from 3,400 m above sea level at Telescope Peak to 88 m below sea …
The Geology of Sand Dunes. While one-quarter to one-third of the world’s deserts are covered with sand, little research has taken …
Mojave Preserve Geology – Landforms
Desert landscape and surface processes study, Mojave National Preserve.
Hole in the Wall – Mojave Preserve
Mojave Preserve – Geology. Hole-in-the-Wall. Hidden violence. Visitors to Mojave National Preserve are fascinated by the brightly colored, …
The Mojave River and Associated Lakes – Mojave Desert Geology
Desert landscape and surface processes study, Mojave National Preserve.
Geology – Death Valley Rock Samples – Mojave Desert
A rock formation is a body of rock of a considerable extent with distinctive characteristics that allow geologists to map, describe, and name it. The sample rocks …
Geology of the Death Valley Region
The three sites in this area lie in the extreme southeast corner of Death Valley National Park immediately west of California Highway 127 which provides the …
Introduction to Geology of the Mojave Desert
Far from being static, the geology of Earth is dynamic, in constant motion and change. The crust is a puzzle made up of tectonic plates, shifting against …
Mojave Desert Geology: Joshua Tree National Park – Nature & Environment. Geology of Joshua Tree. Geologic Displays. The park encompasses some of the most …
Earthquake Faults: Mojave Desert Geology
Geology: Earthquakes & Faults: California straddles the juncture of two great crustal plates: the Pacific plate and the North American plate.
Wind-induced Sand Movement. Photo of a dust devil on Soda Lake in the Mojave Preserve transporting sand. Individual sand grains are moved under the force of the …
Rock Formations – Mojave Desert
Trona Pinnacles. This eerie, fantastic landscape is one of the most unique geological features in the California desert. These … Vasquez Rocks. These towering …
Desert Landforms & Surface Processes
Historic weather data for the Eastern Mojave Desert is relatively scarce because there is no significant … Geologic History. The oldest rocks exposed in the …
This ongoing process has created the majestic contrast of a desert lake bordered by high mountain peaks. As the western floor of the Mono Basin slipped …
Map, photos and virtual tour of the Geology Tour Road in Joshua Tree National Park.
Introduction to the Arch Rock Geology tour
Geology tour of White Tank Arch Rock in Joshua Tree National Park.
The Geology of the Mojave Desert
The earliest rock, related to the metamorphic gneiss and schist at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, has little exposure in the Mojave, but can be seen at Saddle …
Magma On The Move: Geology of the Mojave Desert
Along with the faulting, volcanic activity increased across the landscape. Igneous rock is derived from molten layers of magma beneath the Earth’s crust. Under …
Changing Climates and Ancient Lakes Mojave Desert
Information was derived from articles within Enzel, Wells, and Lancaster (2003); [Geological Society of America Special Paper 268].
General Geologic History – Mojave Preserve – California Mojave
Desert landscape and surface processes study, Mojave National Preserve.
Geology Road – Joshua Tree National Park
Driving tour of Joshua Tree geology
The Providence Mountains caves, like most limestone caves in other parts of the world, seem to have had a two-stage history. Most geologists who have studied …
Volcanic Rocks and Associated Landforms
Cinder Cones and Lava Flows National Natural Landmark Area. Volcanic eruptions have occurred many times throughout the Mojave National Preserve in the geologic …
Badwater – Death Valley Geology
Some of the minerals left behind by earlier Death Valley lakes dissolved in the shallow water, creating a briny solution. The Desert Returns. The wet times didn’t …
Geology Red Rock National Conservation Area
For much of the past 600 million years, the land that is now Red Rock Canyon NCA was the bottom of a deep ocean basin and the western coast of North America was …
Mosaic Canyon – Death Valley Geology
Smooth, polished marble walls enclose the trail as it follows the canyon’s sinuous curves. The canyon follows faults that formed when the rocky crust of the …
Room 8
The Mystery of Room 8 . . .
The waitresses of Kelso Depot were disappearing from their quarters in Room 8. One by one, during the dark of night, these young ladies would vanish without a trace or clue as to whatever may have happened to these delicate, polite, and refined maidens.
Many felt it was a curse, that possibly the Kelso Depot was built on sacred ground, but there was never a shred of proof that there was either a graveyard or spell over this piece of the desert country.
New girls and fresh waitresses would be brought in to fill the void left by these temporal spirits who would remain employed by the Union Pacific until their inevitable disappearance.
This went on long enough that a definite pattern was observed, and the mystery was solved:
The single women who worked here would become so lonely during their time that they would escape in the dark of night with the first gentleman who would elope with her and take her out of the desert.
At least, that’s what I heard happened.