Mojave National Preserve is a United States National Preserve 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 ...

San Bernardino County, California 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, ...

, USA, between

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 ...

and

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

. The preserve was established October 31, 1994, with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act by the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

, which also established Joshua Tree National Park and

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 Eurek ...

National Parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

. Previously, some lands contained within the Preserve were the East Mojave National Scenic Area, under the jurisdiction of 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 ...

. At , within the contiguous United States it is the third largest unit of the National Park System and the first largest National Preserve. The preserve was created within the Pacific West Region of the National Park Service and remains within that jurisdiction today. Natural features include the Kelso Dunes, the Marl Mountains and the Cima Dome, as well as

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plat ...

formations such as Hole-in-the-Wall and the Cinder Cone Lava Beds. The preserve surrounds Providence Mountains State Recreation Area and Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve, which are both managed by the

California Department of Parks and Recreation The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 28 ...

. Impressive Joshua tree forests are found in parts of the preserve. The forest covering Cima Dome and the adjacent Shadow Valley is the largest and densest in the world. In August 2020 a wildfire destroyed 1.3 million Joshua Trees around Cima Dome. The

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

of Kelso is found in the preserve, with the defunct

railroad depot A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

serving as the Visitor Center. The preserve is commonly traversed by 4 wheel drive vehicles traveling on the historic

Mojave Road The Mojave Road, also known as Old Government Road (formerly the Mohave Trail), is a historic route and present day dirt road across what is now the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert in the United States. This rough road stretched ...

. Climate in the preserve varies greatly. Summer temperatures average , with highs exceeding . Elevations in the preserve range from at Clark Mountain to near Baker. Annual precipitation varies from near Baker, to almost in the mountains. At least 25% of precipitation comes from summer thunderstorms. Snow is often found in the mountains during the winter. The preserve currently faces challenges based on its lack of funding, as of 2018 the preserve had a

deferred maintenance Deferred maintenance is the practice of postponing maintenance activities such as repairs on both real property (i.e. infrastructure) and personal property (i.e. machinery) in order to save costs, meet budget funding levels, or realign available bud ...

of $118,036,341. This lack of funding has primarily lead to infrastructure disrepair which, in combination with the reckless driving prevalent among visitors, has caused a significant threat to the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

Desert Tortoise The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''), is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexic ...

population within the preserve. In addition to the tortoise's threatened population, the

Prairie Falcon The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&n ...

and the

Bighorn Sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subsp ...

are both at a risk within the preserve. A common solution provided to help save this population is to install wildlife crossings over the main roads within the preserve, though this is currently not possible with the funding provided.

Mojave Wilderness

The

California Desert Protection Act of 1994 The California Desert Protection Act of 1994 is a federal law () sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein, passed by the United States Congress on October 8, 1994, and signed into effect by President Bill Clinton on October 31 of the same year, tha ...

(CDPA) designated a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

within Mojave National Preserve of approximately . The National Park Service manages the wilderness in accordance with the Wilderness Act, the CDPA, and other laws that protect cultural and historic sites in the wilderness.

Administrative history

Upon the preserve's establishment, Mary Martin was designated as its superintendent, she served from 1994 to 2005, when she was moved to the

Lassen Volcanic National Park Lassen Volcanic National Park is an American national park in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. Lassen Vol ...

. Dennish Schramm then served from 2005 to 2010. Stephanie Dubois served from 2010 to 2014. Todd Suess served from 2014 to 2020, though he continues to work for the National Park Service as the Chief of Biological Resources. The current superintendent is Mike Gauthier who has served since 2020.

Features

* Beale Mountains *

Cima, California Cima (Spanish for "Summit") is a small unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, in the United States. It lies in a mountain pass on the divide between the Ivanpah Valley and the Mojave River basin, a ...

Cima Dome & Volcanic Field National Natural Landmark 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 volca ...

* Clark Mountain * Devils Playground * Granite Mountains * Ivanpah, California *

Ivanpah Mountains The Ivanpah Mountains are located in the southeastern Mojave Desert of California in the United States. The range lies to the south and east of the Mescal Range and Clark Mountain Range. Paute Valley lies between the Ivanpahs and the Mescal Range ...

* Kelso, California * Kelso Depot * Kelso Dunes * Kelso Mountains *

Kelso Wash Kelso Wash is an ephemeral stream in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that drains into Soda Lake . The town of Kelso lies southeast of the wash . Kelso Wash lies within the Mojave National Preserve. It originates at Cima, betw ...

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 Moun ...

* Marl Mountains * Mid Hills *

Mojave phone booth ''Mojave Phone Booth'' is an independently produced 2006 film directed by John Putch. The film is based on a real phone booth in the Mojave Desert that once accepted incoming calls, but has since been removed. The film is composed of the intertwin ...

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 nor ...

* Old Dad Mountain * Providence, California * Providence Mountains *

Vanderbilt, California Vanderbilt was a short-lived gold mining town located in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It existed between 1893 and 1895. At its peak it may have had a population of about 400 people. Location Vanderbilt was located at 35° 1 ...

* Vontrigger Hills

Climate

The following climate data is for a higher elevation area in the preserve. See also Climate of the Mojave Desert.

References

External links

*
Photo tour of Mojave National Preserve
- ''from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

''
Mojave National Preserve Conservancy

Mojave Desert Land Trust
{{authority control Mojave Desert National Preserves of the United States Protected areas of the Mojave Desert Protected areas of San Bernardino County, California Protected areas established in 1994 National Park Service areas in California Geography of San Bernardino County, California Nature reserves in California 1994 establishments in California