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 ...
. The range spans
San Bernardino and
Inyo Inyo may refer to:
Places California
* Inyo County, California
* Inyo National Forest, USA
* The Inyo Mountains
* The Mono–Inyo Craters
Other uses
* Japanese for yin and yang
Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concep ...
counties in
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 , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
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 in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Cana ...
.
Historic Pickhandle Pass and Jackhammer Gap lie at the northern end of the mountains on Fort Irwin Road, with the
Fort Irwin Military Reservation 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 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 ...
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 ...
is located in the Yermo Hills (Calico Hills) at the western edge of the Calico Mountains, north of
Yermo.
The
Calico Early Man Site
The Calico Early Man Site is an archaeological site in an ancient Pleistocene lake located near Barstow in San Bernardino County in the central Mojave Desert of Southern California. This site is on and in late middle-Pleistocene fanglomerates ...
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 The Calico & Odessa Railroad is a narrow gauge heritage railroad in the ghost town of Calico, California, headquartered in Yermo, California. It was named for the town and mountain range of Calico and the nearby Odessa Canyon.
It is a remake of t ...
*
Calico Early Man Site
The Calico Early Man Site is an archaeological site in an ancient Pleistocene lake located near Barstow in San Bernardino County in the central Mojave Desert of Southern California. This site is on and in late middle-Pleistocene fanglomerates ...
*
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 ...
*
Calico Peaks
*
Calico Print—''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 dis ...
( ''site'' )
*
Waterloo Mining Railroad
The Waterloo Mining Railroad, also known as the Calico Railroad or Daggett-Calico Railroad, was a narrow gauge railroad built to carry silver ore from the mines in the Calico Mountains north of Calico to the mills located at Elephant Mountain nea ...
( ''site'' )
*
Francis Marion Smith ( ''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 t ...
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