The Cleghorn Lakes Wilderness is 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 ...
in the southern
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 ...
. It is located northeast of
Twentynine Palms, California
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 ...
, and north of
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to the Mojave Desert. Origin ...
. It is managed by the
Bureau of Land Management.
Named for the dry lakes found at the center of the wilderness area, this area has a variety of natural resources. The east portion is mountainous while the west portion is a vast
alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...
and
bajada. Elevations range from at the desert floor to the rugged Bullion Mountains, which rise more than across a stretch.
[
]
Natural history
Wildlife includes Desert bighorn sheep
The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The ...
on the slopes, and 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 ...
in the valley floor and bajada habitats.
List of California native plants, Native plants include: Barrel cactus, and Psorothamnus spinosus, Smoke trees (''Psorothamnus spinosus'')" in some bajadas. The Cleghorn Lakes offer occasional spring wildflower displays. The Castela emoryi, Crucifixion Thorn (''Castela emoryi'') shrub has been found near the eastern edge of the wilderness boundary. It is native to California, Arizona, and Sonora state in Mexico. It listed by the California Native Plant Society as rare in California, but is more common elsewhere in the lower Sonoran Deserts.
See also
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References
External links
Bureau of Land Management−BLM: official Cleghorn Lakes Wilderness websiteU.S. Geological Survey Map
at the U.S. Geological Survey Map Website. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
{{authority control
Wilderness areas of California
Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
Protected areas of San Bernardino County, California
Bureau of Land Management areas in California