The High Desert of California does not have precise boundaries but is located in the western Mojave Desert region just north of the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and Little San Bernardino Mountains in an area that is between 2,000 and 4,000 feet above sea level.

The Los Angeles County portion of the High Desert contains the Antelope Valley, including Palmdale and Lancaster. The San Bernardino County portion contains Barstow, Newberry Springs, and the Victor Valley, including Victorville, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Adelanto, and Needles. The Kern County portion includes California City and Edwards Air Force Base. The High Desert also includes the Morongo Basin, Lucerne Valley, Yucca Valley, and Twentynine Palms.

 

Mojave Trails National Monument

The Mojave Trails National Monument is a 1,600,000 acre United States National Monument in the Mojave Desert of California. It partially surrounds the Mojave National Preserve. The monument is the largest national monument in the contiguous 50 states and is nearly 100% undeveloped. The most visited area is the Amboy Crater which is a dormant cinder cone volcano. The monument includes 105 miles of the historic US Route 66 and the World War II era Desert Training Center that operated from 1942 to late 1944. The Bonanza Spring, the largest fresh water spring in the Mojave Desert, is also located within the monument.

 

Mojave National Preserve

The Mojave National Preserve is a 1,542,776 acre preserve located in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino, California. The nearest city is Baker, which is a small city east and not far Barstow. It is the largest National Preserve in the United States and is mostly undeveloped. The Mojave National Preserve is governed by the National Park Service. Joshua tree forests are found in parts of the preserve.

 

Mojave Memorial Cross

The Mojave Memorial Cross, officially known as the White Cross World War Memorial, is a Christian cross constructed in 1934 on land that was once public land. The cross stands on Sunrise Rock, a large granite outcropping in the Mojave National Preserve. Congress transferred the site of the cross to a veteran's group to settle litigation brought by a group of atheists.

 

Castle Mountains National Monument

Castle Mountains National Monument, established in 2016 and consisting of 20,920 acres, is located in the eastern Mojave Desert and northeastern San Bernardino County. Castle Mountains National Monument is bordered on three sides by the Mojave National Preserve. The land is mostly undeveloped and includes most of the Castle Mountains.

 

Chimney Rock, California

Chimney Rock, located in the Lucerne Valley, was the site of the last battle between white immigrant settlers and the local Native Americans in 1867. While the Native Americans defended themselves and their land, they were forced to retreat into the Mojave Desert beyond Lucerne Valley. Chimney Rock has been designated a California Historical Landmark.

 

The Wildlands Conservancy

The Wildlands Conservancy, established in 1995, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve land for public recreation. It manages twenty-five preserves covering over 200,000 acres. The organization buys and restores land, constructs public visitor facilities and provides outdoor education programs aimed at children. Its goal is to convert as much privately owned land to public use to the extent possible. Some of the preserves managed by the Wildlands Conservancy include Mission Creek Preserve, Pioneertown Mountains Preserve, and Whitewater Preserve.

 

Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base, established in 1933 as Maurice Bombing and Gunnery Range, is a major United States Air Force installation in the Mojave Desert region of California that covers 470 square miles. Most of the base is in Kern County, but the eastern portion is in San Bernardino County, and the southern section in partly in Los Angeles County. California City is a short distance to the north, Lancaster is to the southwest, Barstow is to the east and Victor Valley is to the southeast. The base is a major employer in the High Desert, averaging over 10,000 military and civilian employees.

 

California Route 66 Museum

The California Route 66 Museum is located in the High Desert on Historic U.S. Route 66 in Old Town Victorville, in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County. The Victor Valley Museum offers rotating exhibitions and extensive historical photos and memorabilia. The non-profit museum was founded by the Old Town Victorville Heritage Preservation organization. It is supported by donors and patrons.

 

Boron Aerospace Museum

The Boron Aerospace Museum, also known as the Saxon Aerospace Museum, was established in 2010 in Boron which is a small community in the Mojave Desert within Kern County The museum features military aircraft, a flight simulator, and much more. Donations, sponsors, and volunteers are needed and greatly appreciated. The museum is located just north of Edwards Air Force Base and a short distance southeast of California City.

 

High-Desert Nature Museum

The High-Desert Nature Museum was founded in 1964 as a non-profit organization in Yucca Valley which is located within the Morongo Valley in San Bernardino County. The area is referred to as the High Desert. There are more than 4,000 exhibits in the museum including Native American artifacts, native gems and minerals, ranching and mining implements, an excellent kids corner, and much more. New exhibits are constantly being added.

 

Desert Tortoise Natural Area

The Desert Tortoise Natural Area (DTNA) is a 39.5 square mile area in the western Mojave Desert, located in eastern Kern County northeast of California City. It was created to protect the native desert tortoise which is the California state reptile.

 

Fishponds - Mojave

Fishponds is one of the locations where the Mojave River rises to run on the surface of its course through the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County. The site of the ponds is in the eastern section of Barstow. Fishponds was named after the Mohave tui chub fish that are found only in the Mojave River. Note that the fish term is spelled Mohave, while the river term and region is spelled Mojave.

 

Mojave Road - Mojave Trail

The Mojave Road, also known as the Old Government Road, is a 147-mile unmaintained rough dirt road, previously called the Mojave Trail. The road stretches from Beagle's Crossing on the Colorado River north of Needles, to Fork of the Road along the north bank of the Mojave River which is just east of Barstow. The road was first traveled in 1776 by Spanish Franciscan missionaries. The Mojave Road has been designated a California Historical Landmark and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

 

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility

The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is a concentrated solar thermal plant in the Mojave Desert near the border with Nevada. The facility covers 3,500 acres and was commissioned in 2014. It has 173,500 collectors and produces a gross capacity of 392 megawatts. In 2014, it was the world's largest solar thermal power station.

 

Mojave Solar Project

The Mojave Solar Project (MSP) is a concentrated solar power facility in the Mojave Desert located approximately 20 miles northwest of Barstow. The facility covers 1,765 acres and was commissioned in 2014. It has 2,256 collectors and produces 250 megawatts.

 

Solar Energy Generating Systems

Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) is a concentrated solar thermal plant in the Mojave Desert approximately 14 miles northwest of Barstow. The facility covers 1,600 acres and was commissioned in 1984. It has 936,384 collectors and produces 354 megawatts.

 

 

Little Rock Creek

Little Rock Creek is a 16.7 mile long stream in the San Gabriel Mountains and Mojave Desert. The headwaters are in the Angeles National Forest, just west of the 8,199 foot high Mount Williamson peak. From there the stream flows to Little Rock Reservoir which is impounded by the Little Rock Dam. From the dam, any excess overflow water, which is small, drains into the Antelope Valley in the western Mojave Desert where there is no outlet.

 

Twenty Mule Team Museum

The Twenty Mule Team Museum was established in 1984 in Boron which is a small community in the Mojave Desert within Kern County. The mission of the museum is to acquire and document artifacts, including photos, pertaining to local history and to the history of borax mining in Boron and the surrounding areas. The museum is open to the public and is supported by donations which are always appreciated. It is located just north of Edwards Air Force Base and a short distance southeast of California City.

 

Rand Desert Museum

The Rand Desert Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, protecting, and sharing the historic cultural resources and architectural history of the Rand Mining District as well as adjacent historic and per-historic sites in the northern Mojave Desert Region of California, also known as the High Desert. The museum is located in Ransburg which is in Kern County and is open on weekends and by appointment.

 

 

Newberry Springs

Newberry Springs, founded in 1911 , is an unincorporated community and desert oasis in the western Mojave Desert or High Desert of Southern California. This small community is located about twenty miles east of Barstow and about forty miles west of the Mojave National Preserve. The area is irrigated by the Mojave Aquifer, the largest aquifer in the western United States. The aquifer supports a diverse agricultural industry including pistachios, apricots and alfalfa along with several man-made lakes that permit water ski and jet ski racing.

 

 

Fort Irwin National Training Center

Fort Irwin National Training Center, also referred to as Fort Irwin NTC, and Fort Irwin, is a major military training center for the United States Army, consisting of 7.1 square miles of desert, in the Mojave Desert. The High Desert military center is approximately 37 miles northeast of Barstow in the Calico Mountains of San Bernardino County.

 

 

 

 

Timeline - Kern County

Low Desert - California