Jawbone Canyon is a geographic feature 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 ...
and a
Bureau of Land Management area located in
Kern County, California
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county s ...
, north of
Mojave on
CA 14 near Cantil, CA. The area is a popular destination for
hikers
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Hist ...
and
off road vehicle enthusiasts.
History
Europeans first settled in the canyon around 1860—naming it Jawbone because its shape resembled a
mandible
In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...
—and the trail was used as a trade route from
Keyesville into the Piute Mountains (not to be confused with the
Piute Mountains of the eastern
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 ...
). During the
Kern River
The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield ...
gold rush, several gold mines operated in the canyon; the most successful of these, the St. John mine, yielded nearly $700,000 worth of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
between 1860 and 1875. The Gwynn mine, on the Geringer Grade, ran six claims yielding a total of $770,000 worth of gold and
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...
before ceasing operations in 1942. Mining continued throughout the 1940s, mainly focused on
rhyolite and
antimony
Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient t ...
.
The area has been used for recreation since the early 20th century. A scientific study, published in 1983, shows that extensive environmental damage had been caused by off road vehicles operating in Jawbone Canyon. Although off-roading is still permitted in the recreation area, as the
Jawbone-Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern riders are restricted to established trails.
Features
*The largest sag pipe of the
Los Angeles Aqueduct crosses through Jawbone.
*Blue Point, a large hill covered with blue-green stone, marks the entrance to Alphie Canyon. The color is due to
oxidized
Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
in the rock.
*The
Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm is visible from the eastern end of the trail.
[
*Jawbone Canyon road terminates at Piute Mountain Road, inside ]Sequoia National Forest
Sequoia National Forest is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The U.S. National Forest is named for the majestic Giant Sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees which populate 38 distinct groves within the boundari ...
.
* Jawbone-Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern
File:Jawbone lava.jpg, Large deposits of volcanic rock in Jawbone Canyon
File:Jawbone floor.jpg, The floor of Jawbone Canyon
File:Jawbone backcountry.jpg, The north-east of Jawbone Canyon
File:Jawbone tree.jpg, Yucca brevifolia
''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca.
This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...
or Joshua tree at Jawbone Canyon
File:Sandstone caves in Jawbone Canyon.jpg, Sandstone caves in Jawbone Canyon
File:JAWBONE LOOKING NORTH - Los Angeles Aqueduct, Jawbone, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA HAER CA-298-W-3.tif, Looking north along the Los Angeles Aqueduct in Jawbone Canyon
See also
Articles
*Red Rock Canyon State Park (California)
Red Rock Canyon State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California which features scenic desert cliffs, buttes and spectacular rock formations. The park consists of approximately within the Mojave Sector of the Tehachapi District of ...
*Burro Schmidt Tunnel
The historical Burro Schmidt Tunnel is located in the El Paso Mountains of the northern Mojave Desert, in eastern Kern County, southern California.
It is a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) mining tunnel dug with hand tools and dynamite over a 38-year ...
Index
* Flora of the California desert regions
* Fauna of the Mojave Desert
* Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
References
External links
*Officia
BLM Jawbone Canyon website
Friends of Jawbone website
BLM Jawbone Canyon Map
{{authority control
Mojave Desert
Bureau of Land Management areas in California
Protected areas of Kern County, California
Protected areas of the Mojave Desert