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Algodones Dunes
The Algodones Dunes is a large sand dune field, or Erg (landform), erg, located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of California, near the border with Arizona and the Mexican state of Baja California. The field is approximately long by wide and extends along a northwest-southeast line that correlates to the prevailing northerly and westerly wind directions. The name "Algodones Dunes" refers to the entire geographic feature, while the administrative designation for that portion managed by the Bureau of Land Management is the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (sometimes called the Glamis Dunes). In 1966, Imperial Sand Hills was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service. The Algodones Dunes are split into many different sections. These sections include Glamis, California, Glamis, Gordon's Well, Buttercup, Midway, and Patton's Valley. Although the Arabic-derived Spanish language, Spanish word ''algodones'' translates to "cotton plants", t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It is the hottest desert in Mexico. It has an area of . In phytogeography, the Sonoran Desert is within the Sonoran floristic province of the Madrean region of southwestern North America, part of the Holarctic realm of the northern Western Hemisphere. The desert contains a variety of unique endemic plants and animals, notably, the saguaro (''Carnegiea gigantea'') and organ pipe cactus (''Stenocereus thurberi''). The Sonoran Desert is clearly distinct from nearby deserts (e.g., the Great Basin, Mojave, and Chihuahuan deserts) because it provides subtropical warmth in winter and two seasons of rainfall (in contrast, for example, to the Mojave's dry summers and cold winters). This creates an extreme contrast between aridity and moistur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundary, maritime boundaries with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Mexico covers 1,972,550 km2 (761,610 sq mi), and is the List of countries by area, thirteenth-largest country in the world by land area. With a population exceeding 130 million, Mexico is the List of countries by population, tenth-most populous country in the world and is home to the Hispanophone#Countries, largest number of native Spanish speakers. Mexico City is the capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city, which ranks among the List of cities by population, most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Human presence in Mexico dates back to at least 8,000 BC. Mesoamerica, considered a cradle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Plank Road
The Old Plank Road is a plank road in Imperial County, California, that was built in 1915 as an east–west route over the Algodones Dunes. It effectively connected the extreme lower section of Southern California to Arizona and provided the last link in a commercial route between San Diego and Yuma, Arizona, Yuma. History Following Los Angeles' winning the right to be the western terminus of the transcontinental railroad, San Diego's civic leaders proposed the Plank Road to ensure their city became the hub of Southern California's road network rather than Los Angeles. Among those promoters was businessman and road builder "Colonel" Ed Fletcher who accepted a challenge from the ''Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Los Angeles Examiner'' to run a road race in October 1912 to determine the best route between Southern California and Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix. A reporter with the paper was given a 24-hour Head start (positioning), head start in Los Angeles; Fletcher would proceed fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ed Fletcher
"Colonel" Ed Fletcher (December 31, 1872 – October 15, 1955) was an American real estate developer and politician. Early life and career Fletcher was born on December 31, 1872 in Littleton, Massachusetts, son of Charles Kimball Fletcher. His family moved to Worcester and Boston, where he attended school. In 1888, Fletcher came to San Diego alone, and with $6.10 in his pocket began selling produce. He was a born salesman and soon had his own business with a partner. In 1901, he entered the real estate business as a land agent, and started a partnership in 1908 with William J. Gross, silent film actor and producer. That partnership developed Grossmont, Casa de Oro-Mount Helix, and Del Mar. Fletcher donated land on Mt. Helix where Easter Sunrise services are held. With George Marston, he developed Pine Hills. In 1907, Fletcher was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the California National Guard, which earned him the title "Colonel", which stuck for the remainder of his lif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Pacific Transportation Company
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Company and Southern Pacific Transportation Company. The original Southern Pacific began in 1865 as a land holding company. The last incarnation of the Southern Pacific, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, was founded in 1969 and assumed control of the Southern Pacific system. The Southern Pacific Transportation Company was acquired in 1996 by the Union Pacific Corporation and merged with their Union Pacific Railroad. The Southern Pacific legacy founded hospitals in San Francisco, Tucson, and Houston. In the 1970s, it also founded a telecommunications network with a state-of-the-art microwave and fiber optic backbone. This telecommunications network became part of Sprint, a company ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coachella Valley
The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic prominence of the city of Palm Springs. The valley extends approximately southeast from the San Gorgonio Pass to the northern shore of the Salton Sea and the neighboring Imperial Valley, and is approximately wide along most of its length. It is bounded on the northeast by the San Bernardino and Little San Bernardino Mountains, and on the southwest by the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains. The Coachella Valley is notable as the location of several wintertime resort cities that have become popular destinations for full time retirees and seasonal residents known as snowbirds. The valley is also known for a number of annual events, including the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, and the R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Valley (California)
The Imperial Valley ( or ''Valle Imperial'') of Southern California lies in Imperial and Riverside counties, with an urban area centered on the city of El Centro. The Valley is bordered by the Colorado River to the east and, in part, the Salton Sea to the west. Farther west lies the San Diego and Imperial County border. To the north is the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, which together with Imperial Valley form the Salton Trough, or the Cahuilla Basin, also the county line of Imperial and Riverside counties, and to the south the international boundary with Mexico. The culture of the area blends those of the United States and Mexico, due to its regional history and geographic location along the international border. The Imperial Valley economy is based on agriculture. Imperial Valley was named by the Imperial Land Company, in the hopes of attracting settlers. It is now the home of the El Centro metropolitan area. Locally, the terms "Imperial Valley" and "Imper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Cahuilla
Lake Cahuilla ( ; also known as Lake LeConte and Blake Sea) was a prehistoric lake in California and northern Mexico. Located in the Coachella and Imperial valleys, it covered surface areas of to a height of above sea level during the Holocene. During earlier stages of the Pleistocene, the lake reached even higher elevations, up to above sea level. During the Holocene most of the water came from the Colorado River with little contribution from local runoff; in the Pleistocene local runoff was higher and it is possible that Lake Cahuilla was supported solely from local water sources during the Wisconsin glaciation. The lake overflowed close to Cerro Prieto into the Rio Hardy, eventually draining into the Gulf of California. The lake formed several times during the Holocene, when water from the Colorado River was diverted into the Salton Trough. This tectonic depression forms the northern basin of the Gulf of California, but it was separated from the sea proper by the growt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly salinity, saline endorheic lake in Riverside County, California, Riverside and Imperial County, California, Imperial counties in Southern California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough, which stretches to the Gulf of California in Mexico. The lake is about at its widest and longest. A 2023 report put the surface area at 318 square miles (823.6 km2). The Salton Sea became a resort destination in the 20th century, but saw die-offs of fish and birds in the 1980s due to contamination from Agricultural pollution, farm runoff, and clouds of Particulate pollution, toxic dust in the current century as evaporation exposed parts of the lake bed. Over millions of years, the Colorado River had flowed into the Imperial Valley and deposited alluvium (soil), creating fertile farmland, building up the terrain, and constantly moving its main course and river delta. For thousands of years, the river alternately flowed i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulf Of California
The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from the Mexico, Mexican mainland. It is bordered by the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa with a coastline of approximately . Rivers that flow into the Gulf of California include the Colorado River, Colorado, Fuerte River, Fuerte, Mayo River (Mexico), Mayo, Sinaloa River, Sinaloa, Sonora River, Sonora, and the Yaqui River, Yaqui. The surface of the gulf is about . Maximum depths exceed because of the complex geology, linked to plate tectonics. The gulf is thought to be one of the most diverse seas on Earth and is home to more than 5,000 species of micro-invertebrates. Parts of the Gulf of California are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Geography History The marine expeditions of Fortún Ximénez, Hernán Cort� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 States, drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. The name Colorado derives from the Spanish language for "colored reddish" due to its heavy silt load. Starting in the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau and through the Grand Canyon before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada border, where it turns south toward the Mexico–United States border, international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora. Known for its dramatic canyons, whitewater rapids, and eleven National parks of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
