The Indio Hills are a low

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in 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 ...

. located in

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 ...

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacin ...

. The hills were named for their proximity to the city of

Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índio ...

, and are sometimes referred to as the Indio Mud Hills or Indio Sand Hills.

Geology

The Indio Hills are located in the

along the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip (horizontal) ...

. The hills have

natural spring A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh w ...

s along the fault. These support native California Fan Palm (''Washingtonia filifera'')

oases In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

Geographic Features

Peaks

*Edom Hill, , : Located near

Thousand Palms Thousand Palms is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 7,715 at the 2010 census, up from 5,120 at the 2000 census. Geography Thousand Palms is located at . I ...

, Edom Hill is one of the highest peaks in the range. The prominence of the hill within the Coachella Valley has made it a chosen location for numerous

communication towers Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqu ...

. *Flat Top Mountain, , *Squaw Hill, , : A promontory overlooking the Thousand Palms Oasis.

Canyons

*Pushawalla Canyon, *Thousand Palms Canyon,

Oases

*Biskra Palms, : Named in honor of

Biskra Biskra ( ar, بسكرة ; ; Latin Vescera) is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about 248 miles (400 km) from Algiers, 71 miles (115&n ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

. *Hidden Palms, *Macomber Palms, *Pushawalla Palms, *Thousand Palms Oasis, : The name origin for the community of Thousand Palms. *Willis Palms,

Parks

The Indio Hills Palms State Reserve and

Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area in Riverside County, California's Coachella Valley. It lies within the unincorporated community of Thousand Palms, just north of Palm Desert. The refuge contains the majority of cri ...

are protected lands of the Indio Hills.

References

External links

Official Indio Hills Palms State Park website

Mountain ranges of the Colorado Desert Mountain ranges of Riverside County, California Indio, California Coachella Valley Hills of California Mountain ranges of Southern California {{RiversideCountyCA-geo-stub