Providence Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Providence Mountains are found in the eastern Mojave Desert
of San Bernardino County, California
, U.S. The range reaches an elevation of 7162 feet (2,183 m) at Edgar Peak and is home to the Mitchell Caverns
Natural Preserve in the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area
, and the Mojave National Preserve
.
. The New York Mountains
are adjacent to the northeast. The Clipper Mountains
are to the southeast, and the Granite Mountains
, Pisgah Crater
and the Bullion Mountains
are to the southwest. The Providence Mountains lie southeast of the small community of Kelso
, east of Ludlow
, and northwest of Essex
and Goffs
.
habitat, composed of Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), California Barrel Cactus
(Ferocactus cylindraceus), Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia), and Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera).
The habitat
dramatically shifts with elevations above 4000 feet to a sky island
where numerous animals and plants flourish in the added moisture caught by the mountains. The plant habitat includes forests of Single-leaf Pinyon
(Pinus monophylla) and California Juniper
(Juniperus californica), and remnant chaparral and woodlands
with Oaks
(Quercus turbinella) and Manzanita
in these higher parts of the mountains. Mitchell Caverns
is home to two endemic species of insects, found nowhere else.
The late 18th century Spanish explorer and missionary Francisco Garcés
crossed the Las Californias
Mojave Desert territory with the 1774 Juan Bautista de Anza
Expedition from New Spain
(Mexico) to Monterey Bay
in Alta California
, and referred to the Providence and New York Mountains
together as the Sierra de Santa Coleta, as considering them one mountain range from western Van Winkle Mountain (California) to eastern Crescent Peak (Nevada) is conceivable. Francisco Garcés crossed through Cedar Canyon, a pass between the New York and Providence Mountains.
19th century pioneer travelers on the Mojave Road
found spring
s and stream
s in the mountains and "thanked Divine Providence," resulting in the range receiving the present name. Mining in several areas has continued off and on for over a century.
The range became part of the Mojave National Preserve
in 1994, under National Park Service
conservation and recreation direction.
Edgar Peak
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
of San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
, U.S. The range reaches an elevation of 7162 feet (2,183 m) at Edgar Peak and is home to the Mitchell Caverns
Mitchell Caverns
The Mitchell's Caverns, within the Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve, are a trio of limestone caves, located on the east side of the Providence Mountains at an elevation of 4300 ft , within the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area...
Natural Preserve in the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area
Providence Mountains State Recreation Area
The Providence Mountains State Recreation Area is located in the Providence Mountains, within the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, California...
, and the Mojave National Preserve
Mojave National Preserve
Mojave National Preserve is located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31, 1994 with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act by the US Congress...
.
Geography
The Providence Mountains are north of Interstate 40Interstate 40 in California
In the U.S. state of California, Interstate 40 has its western terminus in Barstow. Known as the Needles Freeway, a major east–west route of the Interstate Highway System, it heads east from Barstow across the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County past the Clipper Mountains to Needles,...
. The New York Mountains
New York Mountains
The New York Mountains are found in northeastern San Bernardino County in California, USA; the range's northeast lies in southeast Nevada. The range lies just south of the small community of Ivanpah, and north of the Lanfair Valley. The mountains are part of the mountain ranges, cones, mountains,...
are adjacent to the northeast. The Clipper Mountains
Clipper Mountains
The Clipper Mountains are located in the Mojave Desert of eastern San Bernardino County, California. The range parallels the central-southern border of the large Mojave National Preserve and is found just south of Interstate 40 and the Clipper Valley, between the freeway and the National Old Trails...
are to the southeast, and the Granite Mountains
Granite Mountains (California)
The Granite Mountains is a small mountain range in San Bernardino County, California, USA, located in the Mojave Desert.They are in the Mojave National Preserve, in the National Park Service system.-Geography:...
, Pisgah Crater
Pisgah Crater
Pisgah Crater, or Pisgah Volcano, is a young volcanic cinder cone rising above a lava plain in the Mojave Desert, between Barstow and Needles, California in San Bernardino County, California. The volcanic peak is around south of historic U.S...
and the Bullion Mountains
Bullion Mountains
The Bullion Mountains are located in the Mojave Desert of California southeast of the city of Barstow. The mountain range stretches for approximately 50 miles in a northwest-southeasterly direction north of Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms....
are to the southwest. The Providence Mountains lie southeast of the small community of Kelso
Kelso, California
Kelso is a ghost town and defunct railroad depot in the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, California, USA. It was named after a railroad worker who won a contest to have the town named after him...
, east of Ludlow
Ludlow, California
Ludlow is a small town in the Mojave Desert on Interstate 40, located in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The older remains of the ghost town are along historic Route 66.-Geography:...
, and northwest of Essex
Essex, California
Essex is a small unincorporated town in San Bernardino County, California. Essex lies on Old National Trails Highway - part of the old Route 66 - just south of Interstate 40 in the Mojave Desert.-History:...
and Goffs
Goffs, California
Goffs, an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, is a nearly empty one-time railroad town at the route's high point in the Mojave Desert. Goffs was a stop along famous U.S. Route 66 prior to 1931, when a more direct route between Needles and Amboy was built...
.
Natural history
Vegetation on the lower parts of the mountains is xeric shrublands scrubDeserts and xeric shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture.-Definition and occurrence:...
habitat, composed of Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), California Barrel Cactus
Ferocactus cylindraceus
Ferocactus cylindraceus is a species of barrel cactus which is known by several common names, including California barrel cactus and miner's compass. It was first described by George Engelmann in 1853. This cactus is usually cylindrical or spherical, with some older specimens forming columns two...
(Ferocactus cylindraceus), Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia), and Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera).
The habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
dramatically shifts with elevations above 4000 feet to a sky island
Sky island
Sky islands are mountains that are isolated by surrounding lowlands of a dramatically different environment, a situation which, in combination with the altitudinal zonation of ecosystems, has significant implications for natural habitats. Endemism, vertical migration, and relict populations are...
where numerous animals and plants flourish in the added moisture caught by the mountains. The plant habitat includes forests of Single-leaf Pinyon
Single-leaf Pinyon
The Single-leaf Pinyon, ', is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to the United States and northwest Mexico. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and southern California and northern Baja California.It occurs at moderate altitudes from...
(Pinus monophylla) and California Juniper
Juniperus californica
Juniperus californica is a species of juniper native to southwestern North America; as the name implies, it is mainly found in California, although its range also extends through most of Baja California, a short distance into the Great Basin in southern Nevada, and western Arizona...
(Juniperus californica), and remnant chaparral and woodlands
California interior chaparral and woodlands
The California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion covers in an elliptical ring around the California Central Valley. It occurs on hills and mountains ranging from to . It is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers...
with Oaks
Quercus turbinella
Quercus turbinella is a species of oak known by the common names Sonoran scrub oak and shrub live oak. It is native to northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States from far eastern California to southwest Colorado, Rio Grande New Mexico, to west Texas.-Distribution:Quercus turbinella...
(Quercus turbinella) and Manzanita
Manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia, Washington to California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and...
in these higher parts of the mountains. Mitchell Caverns
Mitchell Caverns
The Mitchell's Caverns, within the Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve, are a trio of limestone caves, located on the east side of the Providence Mountains at an elevation of 4300 ft , within the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area...
is home to two endemic species of insects, found nowhere else.
History
The mountains were part of the homeland of the Mojave people for thousands of years.The late 18th century Spanish explorer and missionary Francisco Garcés
Francisco Garcés
Francisco Hermenegildo Tomás Garcés was a Spanish Franciscan missionary who explored much of the southwestern part of North America, including what are now Arizona, southern California, and northeastern Baja California. Garcés was born April 12, 1738, in Morata de Jalón , Zaragoza province,...
crossed the Las Californias
Las Californias
The Californias, or in — - was the name given by the Spanish to their northwestern territory of New Spain, comprising the present day states of Baja California and Baja California Sur on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico; and the present day U.S. state of California in the United States of...
Mojave Desert territory with the 1774 Juan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto was a Novo-Spanish explorer and Governor of New Mexico for the Spanish Empire.-Early life:...
Expedition from New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
(Mexico) to Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....
in Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, and referred to the Providence and New York Mountains
New York Mountains
The New York Mountains are found in northeastern San Bernardino County in California, USA; the range's northeast lies in southeast Nevada. The range lies just south of the small community of Ivanpah, and north of the Lanfair Valley. The mountains are part of the mountain ranges, cones, mountains,...
together as the Sierra de Santa Coleta, as considering them one mountain range from western Van Winkle Mountain (California) to eastern Crescent Peak (Nevada) is conceivable. Francisco Garcés crossed through Cedar Canyon, a pass between the New York and Providence Mountains.
19th century pioneer travelers on the Mojave Road
Mojave Road
The Mojave Road or Mojave Trail is a historic route and present day 'four-wheel drive road' across what is now the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert of California, United States.-History:...
found spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
s and stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s in the mountains and "thanked Divine Providence," resulting in the range receiving the present name. Mining in several areas has continued off and on for over a century.
The range became part of the Mojave National Preserve
Mojave National Preserve
Mojave National Preserve is located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31, 1994 with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act by the US Congress...
in 1994, under National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
conservation and recreation direction.
See also
- Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees HotelKelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees HotelThe Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees Hotel or Kelso Depot, now also the Mojave National Preserve Visitors Center, is located in the Mojave Desert within the National Park Service Mojave National Preserve, on Kelbaker Road in Kelso, California, between Baker and Interstate 15 to the north and...
- Category: Mojave National Preserve
- Category: Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert
- Category: Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
- Category: Flora of the California desert regions
External links
- Official Providence Mountains State Recreation Area website
- Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve website
- Official Mojave National Preserve website
Edgar Peak