The Coxcomb Mountains are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

located in eastern

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

, Southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Geography

The Coxcomb Mountains are within the easternmost area of

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 ...

. They are east of the

Eagle Mountains The Eagle Mountains are located in northeastern Riverside County, California, U.S. Geography The range lies to the north of Interstate 10 (California) off County Route R2 (California) and west— and southwest of the Coxcomb Mountains. They ar ...

and

Twentynine Palms Twentynine Palms (also known as 29 Palms) is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Twentynine Palms serves as one of the entry points to Joshua Tree National Park. History Twentynine Palms was named for the palm trees found there in ...

, north of

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

, and southeast of the

Sheep Hole Mountains The Sheep Hole Mountains are a mountain range in the Mojave Desert, to the north of Joshua Tree National Park, in San Bernardino County, California. The mountains were once Chemehuevi hunting grounds. The mountain range lies between the Bullion ...

. The range's highest point is Spectre Peak, at an elevation of , located within the park. It is at GPS latitude—longitude coordinates of N 34.026279, W -115.404748.

Joshua Tree National Park

The Coxcomb Mountains are the most rugged and sharply perpendicular mountains within

. Being in the park's wildest and least-visited northeastern corner, their relative isolation protects their wilderness habitat. There are trails to hike and explore the area. The range is in the

ecotone An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and gras ...

where

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 ...

merge from the higher elevation

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 ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

and the 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 ...

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 ...

ecoregion.

References

* California Road and Recreation Atlas, 2005, pg. 113

External links

Official Joshua Tree National Park website

Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert Mountain ranges of the Colorado Desert Mountain ranges of Riverside County, California Mountain ranges of Southern California Joshua Tree National Park Protected areas of Riverside County, California Protected areas of the Mojave Desert {{RiversideCountyCA-geo-stub

Geography

Joshua Tree National Park

See also

References

External links