The Rand Mountains are located in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

northeast of California City and southwest of the town of Randsburg.

History

The mountains were the location of the Rand Mining District, with the

mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendig ...

s of Randsburg, Red Mountain, and

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, now approaching

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

status.

Geography

The mountains lie in a southwest-northeasterly direction at the eastern edge of the Fremont Valley. The Scodie Mountains and the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

are to the west. The range stretches approximately 15 miles from the Desert Tortoise Natural Area to the old mining areas of Randsburg. The principal peaks of the range are Government Peak, at 4,741 feet, and Sidney Peak, at 4,372 feet above sea level. The Rand Mountains receive very little rainfall in a normal year, typically less than seven inches.

References

*California Road and Recreation Atlas, 2005, pg.94 Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert Mountain ranges of Kern County, California Mining in California Mountain ranges of Southern California {{KernCountyCA-geo-stub

History

Geography

See also

References