The Calico Mountains of California are a mountain range located in the
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 ...
. The range spans
San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...
and
Inyo counties in
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 Calico Mountains are geologically colorful range that lie in a northwest-southeast direction, and are located just north of
Barstow and
Yermo, and of
Interstate 15
Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...
.
Historic Pickhandle Pass and Jackhammer Gap lie at the northern end of the mountains on Fort Irwin Road, with the
Fort Irwin Military Reservation
Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of . It is located northeast o ...
nearby. The Calico Mountains have been active in California mining history.
Peaks
Calico Peak, the highest point, is in elevation, in the San Bernardino County portion of the range (N 34.995259 and W -116.838369).
Features
The
Rainbow Basin
Rainbow Basin is a geological formation in the Calico Peaks range, located approximately north of Barstow in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California.
The Rainbow Basin has been designated a National Natural Landmark and is in th ...
geologic feature, in the
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 ...
manage
Rainbow Basin Natural Area is just north of
Barstow.
Calico Ghost Town
Calico is a ghost town and former mining town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert region of Southern California, it was founded in 1881 as a silver mining town, and was later c ...
is located in the Yermo Hills (Calico Hills) at the western edge of the Calico Mountains, north of
Yermo.
The
Calico Early Man Site is a Paleo-Indians lithic workshop for Stone tools and a simple quarry
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
in the mountains also.
See also
;Calico Mountains namesakes
*
Calico and Odessa Railroad
*
Calico Early Man Site
*
Calico Ghost Town
Calico is a ghost town and former mining town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert region of Southern California, it was founded in 1881 as a silver mining town, and was later c ...
*
Calico Peaks
The Calico Peaks are geologically and historically colorful mountains in the Calico Mountains Range in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County and Inyo County, California. They are located just north of Barstow, Yermo, and Interstate 15.
Pea ...
*
Calico Print
The ''Calico Print'' was a newspaper, established in 1882 and published during the heyday of the silver mining camp of Calico, California prior to 1902. The ''Calico Print'' was also the name of a monthly, later bi-monthly, periodical of the mid-2 ...
—''publication''
;Local history
*
Borate and Daggett Railroad
The Borate and Daggett Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad built to carry borax in the Mojave Desert. The railroad ran about from Daggett, California, US, to the mining camp of Borate, to the east of Calico.
History
In 1883, prospectors disc ...
( ''site'' )
*
Waterloo Mining Railroad ( ''site'' )
*
Francis Marion Smith
Francis Marion Smith (February 2, 1846 – August 27, 1931) (once known nationally and internationally as "Borax Smith" and "The Borax King" ) was an American miner, business magnate and civic builder in the Mojave Desert, the San Francisc ...
( ''mining'' )
;Related
*
Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
*
Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
References
*
*
External links
Official Rainbow Basin Natural Area websiteOfficial Calico Ghost Town website
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert
Mountain ranges of San Bernardino County, California
Mountain ranges of Inyo County, California
Mining in California
Tourist attractions in San Bernardino County, California