Mecca Hills
Encyclopedia
The Mecca Hills are a low mountain range located in Riverside County, California
in southern California
, USA, east of the Coachella Valley
, west of the Chuckwalla Mountains
, and south of Interstate 10
in the Colorado Desert
. The range lies in an east-west direction. The Mecca Hills are north of the Salton Sea
and south of Joshua Tree National Park
, with the Orocopia Mountains
to the southeast.
(BLM) designated and managed Mecca Hills Wilderness Area. The Mecca Hills are in the Colorado Desert
section of the Sonoran Desert
, adjacent to the Lower Colorado River Valley
region.
The Wilderness Area includes narrow steep-walled canyons winding and creating a natural maze within the badlands. Uniquely faulted and folded geologic formations are the result of the San Andreas Fault, making the Mecca Hills one of the more unusual geological sites of this kind.
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
in southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA, east of the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
, west of the Chuckwalla Mountains
Chuckwalla Mountains
The Chuckwalla Mountains are a mountain range in the transition zone between the Colorado Desert—Sonoran Desert and the Mojave Desert, climatically and vegetationally, in Riverside County of southern California.-Geography:...
, and south of Interstate 10
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...
in the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
. The range lies in an east-west direction. The Mecca Hills are north of the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
and south of Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is located in southeastern California. Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act , it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936. It is named for the Joshua tree forests native to the park...
, with the Orocopia Mountains
Orocopia Mountains
The Orocopia Mountains are located in Riverside County in southern California, USA, east of the Coachella Valley, west of the Chuckwalla Mountains, and south of Interstate 10 in the Colorado Desert. The range lies in an east-west direction, and is approximately 18 miles long...
to the southeast.
Mecca Hills Wilderness Area
The area is the Bureau of Land ManagementBureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
(BLM) designated and managed Mecca Hills Wilderness Area. The Mecca Hills are in the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
section of the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
, adjacent to the Lower Colorado River Valley
Lower Colorado River Valley
The Lower Colorado River Valley is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Sea of Cortez in northwestern Mexico, between the states of Baja...
region.
The Wilderness Area includes narrow steep-walled canyons winding and creating a natural maze within the badlands. Uniquely faulted and folded geologic formations are the result of the San Andreas Fault, making the Mecca Hills one of the more unusual geological sites of this kind.