Kelso Wash is an ephemeral stream in

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, ...

, California, United States, that drains into

Soda Lake A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly alkaline side of neutrality, typically with a pH value between 9 and 12. They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate (and related salt complex ...

. The town of Kelso lies southeast of the wash . Kelso Wash lies within the

Mojave National Preserve Mojave National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 in California, Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31 ...

. It originates at Cima, between the

Kelso Mountains The Kelso Mountains are located just north of the small community of Kelso and the Kelso Dunes, in the Mojave National Preserve in southeastern California. The town of Baker, near Interstate 15, lies approximately 18 miles (29 km) to the nort ...

to the west and the

Providence Mountains The Providence Mountains are found in the eastern Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, U.S. The range reaches an elevation of at Edgar Peak and is home to the Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve in the Providence Mountains State Re ...

to the east as a southward flowing wash , where it receives the Cedar Wash from northeast and washes draining the Marl Mountains from northwest. The

Cima Dome Cima volcanic field is a volcanic field in San Bernardino County, California, close to the border with Nevada. The volcanic field covers a surface area of within the Mojave National Preserve west of the Cima Dome and consists of about 40 volcan ...

lies nearby. The area of Cima separates its valley from

Ivanpah Valley The Ivanpah Valley is in southeastern California and southern Nevada in the United States. The valley is between the New York Mountains and the Ivanpah Mountains in San Bernardino County on the California side, and in Clark County on the Nevada ...

. It then turns west north of the

Kelso Dunes Kelso Dunes, also known as the Kelso Dune Field, is the largest field of Aeolian processes, aeolian sand deposits in the Mojave Desert. The region is protected by the Mojave National Preserve and is located near the town of Baker, California, B ...

and receives first the Cottonwood Wash from southeast, which drains the southern

and the Granite Mountains , and then the Budweiser Wash from the south, which drains the

Bristol Mountains The Bristol Mountains are found in the Mojave Desert of California, USA, just west of Mojave National Preserve. The range, which reaches an elevation of 3,874 feet (1,181 m), is located in San Bernardino County, and crosses Interstate 40 between L ...

, Granite Mountains and

Old Dad Mountains The Old Dad Mountains are a mountain range in San Bernardino County, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , i ...

. Kelso Wash then passes northwestward between

Devils Playground The Devils Playground is a large sandy region in the Mojave Desert in the state of California in the United States. Dunes and salt flats stretch for approximately in a generally northwest-southeasterly direction in the Mojave National Preserve. T ...

to the north and

to the south. It eventually ends into Soda Lake . It is the largest wash draining the area of Soda Lake. Precipitation in the area averages about .

Groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

close to the surface and

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

sustain Kelso Wash.

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s frequently blocked its course, impounding temporary lakes that filled with sediments during the early

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

. The wash has cut as deep as into the ground, and its course is flanked by

river terrace Fluvial terraces are elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and fluvial valleys all over the world. They consist of a relatively level strip of land, called a "tread", separated from either an adjacent floodplain, other fluvial te ...

s. The

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

closely parallels the wash . Together with the

Mojave River The Mojave River is an intermittent river in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Most of its flow is underground, while its surface channels remain dry most of the time, ...

, it supplies water to the Mojave River sink area and

Lake Tuendae Lake Tuendae is an artificial pond at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx, California. It is inhabited by American Coot, mudhens as well as the endangered Mohave tui chub. See also *List of lakes in California References * * CA F ...<br></span></div> . In 1984 Kelso Wash was proposed to be part of the source of sand for the <div class= Kelso Dunes Kelso Dunes, also known as the Kelso Dune Field, is the largest field of Aeolian processes, aeolian sand deposits in the Mojave Desert. The region is protected by the Mojave National Preserve and is located near the town of Baker, California, B ...

References

* * * * * {{authority control Mojave National Preserve Rivers of San Bernardino County, California