Lanfair Valley is located in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

in southeastern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

near the

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

state line. The valley is bounded on the north by the

New York Mountains The New York Mountains are a small mountain range found in northeastern San Bernardino County in California, USA. The range's northeastern area lies in southeastern Nevada. The range lies just south of the small community of Ivanpah, and north ...

and Castle Mountains, on the east by the Piute Range, and on the south by the Woods Mountains and Vontrigger Hills.

Joshua Trees ''Yucca brevifolia'' (also known as the Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca) is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names. This monocotyledonous tree ...

can be found in most of the valley. Elevation is 4,045 feet. The valley proper is drained southeastwards, then due south by the

Sacramento Wash The Sacramento Wash is a major drainage of northwest Arizona in Mohave County. The wash is east of the Black Canyon of the Colorado and drains into the south-flowing Colorado River 45 mi south of Lake Mohave, and 90 mi south of Hoover ...

; the wash then turns due-east and combines with the

Piute Wash The Piute Wash of extreme southeastern Nevada and northeast San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County California is the south-flowing drainage of the Piute Valley. The wash and valley are located northwest of Needles, California. T ...

drainage (south out of

), to immediately enter the west bank of the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

. The dual valley drainage is a U-shape, and the first major ''dry

wash Wash or the Wash may refer to: Industry and sanitation * WASH or WaSH, "water, sanitation and hygiene", three related public health issues * Wash (distilling), the liquid produced by the fermentation step in the production of distilled beverages ...

'' drainage from the west, into the Colorado, south of

Lake Mead Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. L ...

Mojave Road

The Old Mojave Road traverses the valley center, west to east. It passes eastwards just south of center at the Piute Range, and then through a central-southern stretch of the

Piute Valley The Piute Valley is a north–south valley southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and northwest of Needles. The north of the valley is at Searchlight, with some of the valley extending northwest from Searchlight. At the center-north lies Cal-Nev-Ari, ...

to its eastern terminus at ''Bullhead City Park'', west bank of the

opposite

Bullhead City, Arizona Bullhead City is a city located on the Colorado River in Mohave County, Arizona, Mohave County, Arizona, United States, south of Las Vegas, Nevada, and directly across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada, whose casinos and ancillary servi ...

. The Castle Mountains National Monument is part of the north and northeast perimeter of Lanfair Valley, (its watershed). The

Castle Mountains (California) The Castle Mountains are located in the Eastern Mojave Desert, in northeastern San Bernardino County, California, and Clark County, Nevada. The range lies south and east of the New York Mountains, southwest of Searchlight and west of Cal-N ...

proper is on the

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

between the headwaters of a south-flowing section of Lanfair Valley, and a northwesterly section of the south-flowing

(the similar south-trending valley and wash adjacent east). The central part of the valley contains the Grotto Hills (also known as Giotto Hills) and

Lanfair Buttes Lanfair Buttes, also known as Eagle Mountain, Indian Hill, Eagle Hill, and Graveyard Hills is a summit in the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. The Lanfair Buttes lie 3 miles (4.8 km) east-sout ...

Lanfair, California

The valley is home to the Lanfair

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

at the intersection of Cedar Canyon Road and Lanfair Road. While once thriving, all that is now left of the town of Lanfair is rubble. Both Lanfair Valley, and its ghost town, are named for Ernest L. Lanfair, a settlement owner. Tens of thousand of acres in the valley are privately held, despite being located in the

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

. Few people live in the valley today, but at one time there were schools, farms,

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

s, and even a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Geography

The

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) * Hart (surname) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department store ...

ghost town site in the northeast of the Lanfair Valley is located at . Lanfair ghost town site is located at .

References

* * Casebier, Dennis G. ''Lanfair Valley – A Black Homesteading Experience'' �

External links

Ghost Towns (and Historic Towns) of Mojave National Preserve, (coord, Lanfair)
{{authority control Lanfair Valley, Mojave National Preserve Valleys of California Valleys of the Mojave Desert Valleys of San Bernardino County, California

Mojave Road

Lanfair, California

Geography

See also

References

External links