![Entrance to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Entrance_to_Big_Morongo_Canyon_Preserve.jpg)
The Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is a 31,000-acres (130 km
2)
native plants
In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
and
wildlife preserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
located in the
Little San Bernardino Mountains
The Little San Bernardino Mountains are a short mountain range of the Transverse Ranges, located in southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains through San Bernardino and ...
of the
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa B ...
, in the transition zone between the higher
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...
and lower elevation
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna.
Geography and geology
The Colorado De ...
section of the
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...
. Due to its location within this transition zone, the area is especially high in
natural diversity. The natural
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
fed desert
oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
found here is one of the 10 largest
Cottonwood (''Populus fremontii'') and
Willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
(''Salix lasiolepis'')
riparian
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...
habitats
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
in California. It is also identified by the
Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...
as one of the most important avian habitat areas in California.
The entrance to the preserve is located within
Morongo Valley, California
Morongo Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) on State Route 62 in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 3,552 at the 2010 census, up from 1,929 at the 2000 census. The town is bordered by Yucca Valley, Californi ...
, an unincorporated town within
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
just off
California State Route 62
State Route 62 (SR 62) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that cuts across the Little San Bernardino Mountains in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It runs from Interstate 10 near White Water to the Arizona state line, passin ...
. Admission is free. The preserve is open from 7:30 am to sunset, each day.
History
The last people to inhabit the canyon before the arrival of white settlers were the Morongos, a powerful clan of
Serrano Indians
The Serrano are an indigenous people of California. They use the autonyms of Taaqtam, meaning "people"; Maarrênga’yam, "people from Morongo"; and Yuhaaviatam, "people of the pines." Today the Maarrênga'yam are enrolled in the Morongo Band o ...
. They lived peacefully in this canyon and surrounding valley until the mid-1800s.
The preserve was the site of a large (more than 10 acre) historic "Maringa" (Morongo) Native American Serrano permanent settlement. The site, CA SBR‐561, is a large residential site with a continuous, dependable source of water. The valuable biotic resource assemblage that the water attracted, provided for ample food and manufacturing materials to support the view of it being a permanent Maringa Serrano residence for a long span of time. Present on the site are bedrock mortars, several types of ceramic wares, lithic tool stone debitage and numerous late period projectile points.
Human remains were discovered on the site in 1994 that were not cremated, suggesting a greater age of the site since Serrano traditionally cremated their deceased in historic and ethnographic times. Little is known of the archaeological site, since no known ethnographic or historic accounts exist. The Serrano people who occupied this site had long before either left the area during the mission period, joining and merging with the populations of Cahuilla to the south and west on reservation lands, or had succumbed to European introduced diseases long before. The Warren homestead, established in 1885 by Mark and Sylvia Warren, is located adjacent to the preserve.
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
, San Bernardino County, and the
United States Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
all contributed and managed the lands which were organized to create the preserve in 1982. In 1982, the Bureau of Land Management recognized the ecological features of the area and designated almost 3,700 acres of the ridge and canyon as an "Area of Critical Environmental Concern." More than 570 acres of the preserve was once planned as a possible site for an oil pipeline pumping station but was later donated by
ARCO
ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...
to the Nature Conservancy in 1989.
The preserve has undergone two significant fires since 1990. The most recent fire, the
Paradise Fire in 2005, burned over 2,000 acres in the preserve and required extensive repair and replacement of the boardwalks, trails, and interpretive facilities. The BLM rebuilt all the damaged facilities to meet and exceed American for Disability Act and other standards. Because of the extreme fire danger present, smoking is forbidden anywhere within the preserve.
Today, the preserve is managed by The Bureau of Land Management with the assistance of the Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve to protect rare and endangered wildlife, to promote the growth and restoration of a wide variety of plants, and to offer educational opportunities for students and nature lovers of all ages. Dee Zeller currently serves as onsite camp host and naturalist.
Wildlife
The preserve aims to educate the public about its purpose in protecting vulnerable wildlife and
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s. Volunteers host educational opportunities including bird walks and group hikes. Public outreach programs and field trips are available.
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is an internationally recognized birding site. Several rare or unusual species are known to nest here, and many other species are abundant during the spring and fall migration seasons. The preserve has been designated as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
by the
American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. Its focus is on threats to birds in the Western Hemisphere – threats which include ov ...
, the
American Birding Association
The American Birding Association (ABA) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, dedicated to recreational birding in Canada and the United States. It has been called "the standard-bearer for serious birding in North America." Originally con ...
, and the Watchable Wildlife National Program, and is featured in the
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
Guide to Bird Watching Sites. Over 247 bird species have been recorded in the preserve, with at least 72 resident breeding species.
While the preserve is most well known amongst
bird watchers, many animals also make their home within the preserve including the
cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
,
gray fox
The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littora ...
,
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
,
mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whit ...
,
bighorn sheep
The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...
,
deer mouse
''Peromyscus'' is a genus of rodents. They are commonly referred to as deer mice or deermice, not to be confused with the chevrotain or "mouse deer". They are New World mice only distantly related to the common house and laboratory mouse, ''Mu ...
,
ground squirrel
Ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents (Sciuridae), which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known ...
,
cottontail rabbit
Cottontail rabbits are the leporid species in the genus ''Sylvilagus'', found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this ...
, along with various amphibians and reptiles, such as, the
Mohave rattlesnake
''Crotalus scutulatus'' (common names: Mojave rattlesnake,Crothier, B.I. ''et al''. 2003. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico: Update. ''Herpetological Review'' 34:196–203Robert C. ...
and
rosy boa
''Lichanura'', the rosy boas, are a genus of snakes in the family Boidae. They are distributed across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, ...
.
Geography
The preserve houses some of the oldest exposed rocks in California, dated at almost two billion years. They consist of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
that has been altered by centuries of heat and pressure to form
gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
and
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...
.
The preserve is characterized by steep canyons, rugged terrain and desert oases. The upstream end of the canyon originates in the Mojave Desert, while its downstream portion opens into the Colorado Desert. The Morongo fault running through the canyon causes water draining from the surrounding mountains to form Big Morongo Creek and the marsh habitat.
Location
While the preserve's eastern boundary runs parallel to
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to t ...
on the east, no public access exists between the two parks.
Yucca Valley, California
Yucca Valley is an incorporated town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 20,700 as of the 2010 census. Yucca Valley lies west of Twentynine Palms, north of Palm Springs, south of Barstow via State Rout ...
, is 11 miles east of the preserve via State Route 62, while
Desert Hot Springs, California
Desert Hot Springs is a city in Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region. The population was 25,938 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cens ...
, is 11 miles to the southeast via State Route 62 and Pierson Blvd. The nearest commercial airport is
Palm Springs International Airport
Palm Springs International Airport , formerly Palm Springs Municipal Airport, is an airport two miles (3 km) east of downtown Palm Springs, California, United States. The airport covers and has two runways. The facility operates year-roun ...
, which is 24 miles south of the preserve.
Climate
Recreation
Camping
Camping is not permitted within the preserve. No fires of any kind are permitted.
Biking
Bicycles, skateboards, skates, or unauthorized vehicles of any kind are not permitted beyond the preserve's parking lot.
Hiking
Hiking is permitted only on designated trails. The preserve has several short trails, such as the Marsh and Mesquite trails which are under a mile long, while the Canyon trail is approximately 10 miles round-trip.
Wheelchair access
Certain trails are built to meet and exceed American for Disability Act standards for wheelchair accessibility.
Pets
Due to the preserve's status as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), pets are not permitted within the preserve.
Hunting
Firearms and hunting are prohibited within the preserve.
Collecting
Collecting, or disturbance of wildlife is not allowed in the preserve.
Birding
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is an internationally recognized birding site. Several rare or unusual species are known to nest here, and many other species are abundant during the spring and fall migration seasons. Over 247 bird species have been recorded in the preserve, with at least 72 resident breeding species.
Special rules
The discharge of firearms is prohibited within the main body of the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve; however, hunting is allowed further south in the undeveloped region of the ACEC. Off highway vehicles, dogs, fires, and horseback riders are not allowed in the main body of the preserve either; however, these uses are allowed in the undeveloped portion of the ACEC. Within wilderness areas, certain uses, such as motorized equipment and/or mechanized travel, are prohibited per Section 4 (c) of the Wilderness Act (1964). Hunters must comply with California
DFG laws and regulations for all areas open to hunting.
Facilities
An information kiosk is located at the trail head just off the parking lot. There are onsite camp hosts. Trail maps, trail guides for self-guided walks, information brochures, picnic facilities, and restroom facilities are available at the preserve. Facilities also include a nature education center, and wheelchair-accessible trails.
Friends of Big Morongo – Hiking
accessed 6/20/2010
Trails
See also
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References
External links
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve Trail Map
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve Bird List
Friends of the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve
Morongo Valley News – Big Morongo Canyon Preserve
*
{{authority control
Nature reserves in California
Sand to Snow National Monument
Protected areas of the Colorado Desert
Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
Protected areas of Riverside County, California
Protected areas of San Bernardino County, California
Canyons and gorges of California
Coachella Valley
Marshes of California
Landforms of Riverside County, California
Landforms of San Bernardino County, California
Protected areas established in 1982
1982 establishments in California
Bureau of Land Management areas in California