The Chuckwalla Valley is a large valley in eastern

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

, named for a large lizard, the

chuckwalla Chuckwallas are lizards found primarily in arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Some are found on coastal islands. The six species of chuckwallas are all placed within the genus ''Sauromalus''; they are part of t ...

found in the arid

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...

deserts. The region of the valley in southeast

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 ...

, is the low elevation section of 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 i ...

transitioning into the

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado De ...

, the northwest extension (in California) of the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizon ...

. The region is notable for valleys containing bajadas, sand dunes, and intermittent, dry, or saline lakes. Chuckwalla Valley contains

Ford Lake Ford Lake is a fresh water artificial reservoir located in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lake was created from the construction of Ford Lake Dam (originally known as Rawsonville Dam) along the Huron River in the early 1930s. ...

(

Ford Dry Lake Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Fo ...

) in the east-southeast;

Palen Lake Palen or Palén is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Anna von Palen (1875–1939), German actress * Cole Palen (1925–1993), American flier & collector *Fyodor Palen (1780–1863), Russian diplomat and administrator *Paul Palén ...

(

Palen Dry Lake Palen or Palén is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Anna von Palen (1875–1939), German actress *Cole Palen (1925–1993), American flier & collector *Fyodor Palen (1780–1863), Russian diplomat and administrator *Paul Palén ...

) occurs in the center-northwest, at the south terminus of the smaller, north-south Palen Valley. The south end of the valley expands slightly northwest-by-southeast, and contains

Danby Dry Lake Danby Lake (also known as Danby Dry Lake) is a dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, northwest of Blythe. The lake is approximately long and at its widest point. See also * List of lakes in California The ...

, a 13-mi (21 km)

References

External links

Ford Lake (Ford Dry Lake), coordinates & elevation at topozone.com
* {{stack, {{Location map+, USA California , width=240, caption=The west-to-east extent of Chuckwalla Valley, float=places= {{Location map~, USA California , lat_deg=33 , lat_min=42 , lat_sec=48 , lat_dir=N , lon_deg=115 , lon_min=24 , lon_sec=02 , lon_dir=W , label= Desert Center, CA , position=top {{Location map~, USA California , lat_deg=33.640856 , lat_min= , lat_sec= , lat_dir=N , lon_deg=115.0188589 , lon_min= , lon_sec= , lon_dir=W , label=

, position=bottom Endorheic basins of the United States Valleys of the Mojave Desert Valleys of Riverside County, California