Lanfair Valley is located in 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 in ...

in southeastern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

near the

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

state line. It is bounded on the north by the

New York Mountains The New York Mountains are a small mountain range found in northeastern San Bernardino County in California, USA. The range's northeastern area lies in southeastern Nevada. The range lies just south of the small community of Ivanpah, and north ...

and Castle Mountains, on the east by the

Piute Range The Piute Range is located in the Mojave Desert, primarily in northeast San Bernardino County, California, United States, with a north portion in Nevada. Most of the range is the eastern border of the Mojave National Preserve, a National Park Ser ...

, and on the south by the Woods Mountains and

Vontrigger Hills The Vontrigger Hills are a low mountain range in the eastern Mojave Desert, in eastern San Bernardino County, California. Vontrigger Hills are located in the southeastern Mojave National Preserve, approximately north of the small settlement of G ...

. Joshua Trees can be found in most of the valley. Elevation is 4,045 feet. The valley proper is drained southeastwards, then due south by the Sacramento Wash; the wash then turns due-east and combines with the

Piute Wash The Piute Wash of extreme southeastern Nevada and northeast San Bernardino County California is the south-flowing drainage of the Piute Valley. The wash and valley are located northwest of Needles, California. The Piute Wash watershed and Piute ...

drainage (south out of

), to immediately enter the west bank of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

. The dual valley drainage is a U-shape, and the first major ''dry wash'' drainage from the west, into the Colorado, south of Lake Mead.

Mojave Road

The Old Mojave Road traverses the valley center, west to east. It passes eastwards just south of center at the

, and then through a central-southern stretch of the Piute Valley to its eastern terminus at ''north of AVI Casino across from FT. Mohave AZ'', west bank of the

opposite Fort Mohave Mesa, Arizona,

Castle Mountains National Monument

---- The Castle Mountains National Monument is part of the north and northeast perimeter of Lanfair Valley, (its watershed). The Castle Mountains (California) proper is on the water divide between the headwaters of a south-flowing section of Lanfair Valley, and a northwesterly section of the south-flowing

of Piute Valley (the similar south-trending valley and wash adjacent east). The central part of the valley contains the

Grotto Hills Grotto Hills is a range of hills in the Lanfair Valley of San Bernardino County, California. Its tallest summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic ...

(also known as Giotto Hills) and

Lanfair Buttes Lanfair Buttes, also known as Eagle Mountain, Indian Hill, Eagle Hill, Graveyard Hills is a summit in the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. The Lanfair Buttes lie 3 miles (4.8 km) east-southea ...

Lanfair, California

The valley is home to the Lanfair

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

at the intersection of Cedar Canyon Road and Lanfair Road. While once thriving, all that is now left of the town of Lanfair is rubble. Both Lanfair Valley, and its ghost town, are named for Ernest L. Lanfair, a settlement owner. Tens of thousand of acres in the valley are privately held, despite being located in the Mojave National Preserve. Few people live in the valley today, but at one time there were schools, farms,

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

s, and even a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Geography

The Hart ghost town site in the northeast of the Lanfair Valley is located at . Lanfair ghost town site is located at .

References

* * Casebier, Dennis G. ''Lanfair Valley - A Black Homesteading Experience''

External links

Ghost Towns (and Historic Towns) of Mojave National Preserve, (coord, Lanfair)
File:New York Mountains Road 2.jpg, complete west-to-east Lanfair Valley vista to

(from foothills of