Deserts

* Mojave Desert ('' High Desert'') * Sonoran Desert **

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 ...

('' Low Desert'') **

Yuha Desert The Yuha Desert is a section of the Sonoran Desert located in the Imperial Valley of California; south of Interstate 8, west of El Centro, and north of the international border. Unique aspects of the Yuha Desert include the Oyster Shell Beds, De An ...

Valleys

Desert Valleys include the: * Owens Valley * Deep Springs Valley * Eureka Valley * Saline Valley * Death Valley * Panamint Valley * Indian Wells Valley *

Fremont Valley The Fremont Valley is a valley located in the western Mojave Desert of California. It stretches from the town of Mojave approximately 70 km northeast to the foothills of the Lava Mountains and Summit Range. The valley is home to Koehn D ...

* Antelope Valley * Victor Valley * Lucerne Valley *

Lanfair Valley Lanfair Valley is located in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California near the Nevada state line. It is bounded on the north by the New York Mountains and Castle Mountains, on the east by the Piute Range, and on the south by the Woods Mou ...

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...

* Imperial Valley *

Lower Colorado River Valley The Lower Colorado River Valley (LCRV) is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Gulf of C ...

* Death Valley

Natural history

* Flora of the California desert regions * Fauna of the Mojave Desert * Fauna of the Colorado Desert * Flora of the Sonoran Deserts * Wildflower superbloom

Parks, Nature Preserves, and Wilderness Areas

The deserts contain many national, state, county, municipal, and conservation foundation managed parks, recreation and scenic areas, wildlife preserves and nature reserves, and wilderness areas.

Parks

* Mojave National Preserve ('' National Park Service'') *

Death Valley National Park Death Valley National Park is an American national park that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eureka ...

* Joshua Tree National Park * Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument * Anza-Borrego Desert State Park * Mount San Jacinto State Park * Red Rock Canyon State Park *

Mojave Narrows Park Mojave Narrows Park near Victorville, California, Victorville in San Bernardino County, California is a regional park that features a fishing lake and hiking trails. Once described as "one of Southern California's least-known parks," it is a lo ...

Recreation areas

* Algodones Dunes - Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area *

Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge The Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Imperial Valley of California, north of the Mexican border. Situated at the southern end of the Salton Sea, the refuge protects one of the most important nesting sites and sto ...

Unique features and landmarks

* Devils Punchbowl County Park, Littlerock, California * Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark * Mitchell Caverns National Preserve * Mecca Hills National Preserve * Saddleback Butte State Park. Lake Los Angeles, California * Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve * Rainbow Basin National Natural Landmark, Barstow, California * Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark, Amboy, California * Cima volcanic field

Wildlife and nature preserves

Big Morongo Canyon Preserve The Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is a 31,000-acres (130 km2) native plants habitat and wildlife preserve located in the Little San Bernardino Mountains of the Transverse Ranges, in the transition zone between the higher Mojave Desert and lowe ...

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge The Imperial National Wildlife Refuge protects wildlife habitat along of the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California, including the last un-channeled section before the river enters Mexico. The Imperial Refuge Wilderness, a federally ...

* Cibola National Wildlife Refuge * Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park

History and Art Museums

Palm Springs Desert Museum The Palm Springs Art Museum (formerly the Palm Springs Desert Museum) was founded in 1938, and is a regional art, natural science and performing arts institution for Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, in Riverside County, California, United St ...

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium The Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium is a family-owned botanical garden in Palm Springs, California, specializing in cacti and other desert plants. The gardens lie within Riverside County's Coachella Valley, part of the Colorado Desert ec ...

* Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees Hotel * Harvey House Railroad Depot ''Casa del Desierto'', Barstow, California *

Western America Railroad Museum The Western America Railroad Museum is a railroad museum A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives (steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and r ...

, Barstow, California *

El Garces Hotel El Garces Intermodal Transportation Facility (also known as Needles station) is an Amtrak intercity rail station and bus depot in downtown Needles, California. The structure was originally built in 1908 as El Garces, a Harvey House and Atchi ...

Needles, California Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the Californian border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is a ...

* Maturango Museum, Ridgecrest, California
Mojave Desert Heritage & Cultural Center
old Goffs schoolhouse and depot,

Goffs, California Goffs, an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, is a nearly empty one-time railroad town at the route's high point in the Mojave Desert. Goffs was a stop on famous U.S. Route 66 until 1931 when a more direct road opened ...

* California Route 66 Museum, Victorville, California * Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park,

Palmdale, California Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...

Eastern California Museum The Eastern California Museum is a history and heritage museum in Independence, California. It was founded in 1928 and showcases the history of the region of Eastern California. It is operated by Inyo County. History Due to the rapid developm ...

, Owens Valley, Independence, California *

Cabot's Pueblo Museum Cabot's Pueblo Museum is an American historic house museum located in Desert Hot Springs, California, and built by Cabot Yerxa, an early pioneer of the Colorado Desert. A large, Hopi-style pueblo, built in the Pueblo Revival Style, it contains ar ...

, Desert Hot Springs, California

Population centers

Native American Reservations

* Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians,

Colorado River Indian Reservation The Colorado River Indian Tribes (Mojave language 'Aha Havasuu, Navajo language: Tó Ntsʼósíkooh Bibąąhgi Bitsįʼ Yishtłizhii Bináhásdzo) is a federally recognized tribe consisting of the four distinct ethnic groups associated with the C ...

* Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians * Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians * Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians * Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians * Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians * Fort Yuma Indian Reservation *

Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Lone Pine Community of the Lone Pine Reservation The Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Lone Pine Community of the Lone Pine Reservation ( Timbisha (Shoshone) language: ''Noompai'' ) is a federally recognized tribe of Mono and Timbisha Native American Indians near Lone Pine in Inyo County, Californi ...

* Timbisha Indian Village, Furnace Creek, California

Cities and Settlements

* Adelanto *

Amboy Amboy may refer to: Places * Amboy, Córdoba, village in Calamuchita Department, Córdoba province, Argentina United States * Amboy Crater, feature in Mojave National Preserve, California Settled U.S. places * Amboy, California * Amboy, Ge ...

* Apple Valley *

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

* Barstow *

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a snow and rain fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it ...

* Blythe * Brawley *

Boron Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the ''boron group'' it has th ...

* Borrego Springs * Calexico * California City * Calipatria * Cantil * Cathedral City * China Lake *

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind "Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind" is a song by Ame ...

, * Daggett *

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

* Deep Springs *

Desert Center Desert Center is a census designated place in the Colorado Desert in Riverside County, California. It is in southern California, between the cities of Indio and Blythe at the junction of Interstate 10 and State Route 177, about halfway between Pho ...

Desert Hot Springs Desert Hot Springs is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region. The population was 25,938 at the 2010 census, up from 16,582 at the 2000 census. The city has ex ...

* El Centro * Essex * Fort Irwin * Furnace Creek * Heber * Hinkley *

Holtville Holtville (formerly, Holton) is a city in Imperial County, California. Holtville is located east of El Centro. The population was 5,939 at the 2010 census, up from 5,612 in 2000. History The city was founded in the 1880s by Swiss-German settle ...

Homewood Canyon-Valley Wells Homewood Canyon-Valley Wells is a former census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States. The population was 75 at the 2000 census. Prior to the 2010 census, it was dissolved into Homewood Canyon CDP and Valley Wells CD ...

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, Indian Wells * Indio * Inyokern * Johannesburg * Joshua Tree * Keeler * Kelso * La Quinta * Lancaster *

Landers Landers may refer to: People * Landers (surname), a list of people surnamed Landers (including fictional people) Places * Landers, California, United States * Landers Peaks, group of peaks in the northern portion of Alexander Island, Antarct ...

* Lone Pine * Mojave * Montclair * Morongo Valley * Needles * Newberry Springs *

Niland Niland is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Conor Niland (born 1981), tennis player * D'Arcy Niland (1917–1967), author * Deborah Niland (born 1950), illustrator * Elly Niland (born 1954), poet * John Niland (born 1940), ac ...

* Ocotillo *

Olancha Olancha (Timbisha: ''Pakwa' si'') is a census designated place in Inyo County of the U.S. state of California. Olancha is located on U.S. Route 395 in California, south-southeast of Independence, at an elevation of 3658 feet (1115 m). As of the ...

* Palmdale * Palm Desert * Palm Springs *

Pearsonville Pearsonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States. The population was 17 at the 2010 census, down from 27 at the 2000 census. Pearsonville has been dubbed the "Hubcap Capital of the World" because of resident ...

, * Rancho Mirage *

Randsburg Randsburg (formerly Rand Camp) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Randsburg is located south of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of . The population was 69 in the 2010 census, down from 77 in the 2000 census ...

* Ridgecrest * Rosamond *

Salton City Salton City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Imperial County, California. It is the largest Imperial County development on the Salton Sea coast. It is part of the El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,763 ...

* Seeley *

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

Tecopa Tecopa (formerly Brownsville) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Mojave Desert, in Inyo County, California, United States. Tecopa is located south-southeast of Shoshone, at an elevation of . The population was 150 at the 2010 census, u ...

* Trona *

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 ...

* Victorville *

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

* Yermo * Yucca Valley {{div col end

Military reservations

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

* China Lake Naval Weapons Center * Fort Irwin Military Reservation * Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base *

Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range The Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range (CMAGR) is a bombing range operated by the US Marine Corps located in southern California. United States. Range description The range is a

Other sights

Blythe Intaglios The Blythe Intaglios or Blythe Geoglyphs are a group of gigantic figures incised on the ground near Blythe, California, in the Colorado Desert. The ground drawings or geoglyphs were created by humans for an, as yet, unknown reason. The intaglios ...

* Bradshaw Trail * Calico Ghost Town * Coso Rock Art District ''

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s'' * Mojave Road *

Pioneertown Pioneertown, California, is an unincorporated community of the Morongo Basin region of San Bernardino's High Desert. The historical town was originally incorporated in 1946 and fell into the hands of San Bernardino County in the late 1960s. The w ...

* U.S. Route 66 * Trona Pinnacles * Wildflower superbloom * Zzyzx * Desert topics California