Turtle Mountains (California)
Encyclopedia
The Turtle Mountains, and 'Amat 'Achii'ar in the Mojave language
, are located in San Bernardino County, California
, in the southeastern part of the state.
, west off of U.S. Highway 95; with Vidal Junction
close on the southeast, Twentynine Palms
to the east, and Blythe
to the south.
The range is directly north of and connected with the Mopah Range
. They lie in a north-south direction east of Ward Valley and the Old Woman Mountains
. They are west of the Whipple Mountains
and Colorado River
. The Turtle Mountains reach an elevation of 4231 feet (1,289.6 m) above sea level at Bolson Peak. They are a registered National Natural Landmark
in recognition of their exceptional natural values.
. The Maria Fold and Thrust Belt underwent generally thick-skinned
(involving basement rocks) North-South trending crustal shortening in the Cretaceous
, followed by generally East-West
trending large-scale crustal extension in the Miocene
. This North-South shortening is anomalous, as crustal shortening in the rest of the North American Cordillera
is oriented generally East-West because of the generally East-West compression that was due to the subduction of the Farallon plate
under western North America. Also unlike the rest of the North American Cordillera, deformation in the Maria Fold and Thrust Belt involved rocks of the North American Craton, most notably the Grand Canyon sequence
of sedimentary rocks.
region.
(High Desert
) and Colorado Desert
region of the Sonoran Desert
(Low Desert
) and therefore contains a high diversity of plant and animal species. The Turtle Mountain range is a northern or southern 'delimiter of occurrence' for some species; for example the endangered California Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera
, encounters the northern limit of its range in the Mopah-Turtle Mountains.
Dominate vegetation in the Turtle Mountains Wilderness Area consists of the creosote bush-bur sage with Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and the palo verde-cactus shrub ecosystems with the Palo Verde tree
(Parkinsonia microphylla). In the washes, Colorado/Sonoran microphylla woodlands can be found. These woodlands include such things as Smoke Tree
(Psorothamnus spinosus), Honey Mesquite
(Prosopis velutina), and Catclaw
(Acacia greggii).
Wildlife species include Desert Bighorn Sheep
, coyote, black-tailed jackrabbit
s, ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, quail, roadrunner
s, golden eagle
s, prairie falcon
s, rattlesnake
s, the Desert Tortoise
and several species of lizard
s.
, horseback riding, camping
, rock hounding, photography, and backpacking
can be enjoyed in this wilderness. The area is popular with rock hounding hobbyists and is nationally known for chalcedony
specimens in a form known as "Mopah Roses." The natural palm oases
of Coffin, Mopah, and Mohawk Springs, are popular hiking destinations.
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Mojave language
Mojave is the native language of the Mohave people along the Colorado River in eastern California, northwestern Arizona, and southwestern Nevada...
, are located in 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...
, in the southeastern part of the state.
Geography
The Turtle Mountains are 30 miles (48.3 km) southeast of Needles, CaliforniaNeedles, California
Needles is a city located in the Mojave Desert on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California. It is located in the Mohave Valley, which straddles the California–Arizona border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95...
, west off of U.S. Highway 95; with Vidal Junction
Vidal Junction, California
Vidal Junction, California is a small town site in the Sonoran Desert in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, United States.The town is near the California/Arizona state line immediately west of Parker at the intersection of U.S. Route 95 and State Route 62 a short distance north of...
close on the southeast, Twentynine Palms
Twentynine Palms, California
Twentynine Palms is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It was previously called Twenty-Nine Palms...
to the east, and Blythe
Blythe, California
Blythe is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the "Palo Verde Valley" of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River. Blythe was named after Thomas Blythe, a gold prospector who established primary...
to the south.
The range is directly north of and connected with the Mopah Range
Mopah Range
The Mopah Range is a desert mountain range, in the Lower Colorado River Valley region, in southeastern San Bernardino County, California.-Geography:The Mopah Range are located directly adjacent to and linked with the larger Turtle Mountains Range...
. They lie in a north-south direction east of Ward Valley and the Old Woman Mountains
Old Woman Mountains
The Old Woman Mountains are located south of the town of Essex, California, and north of Danby Dry Lake. The range reaches an elevation of at the northeastern end , and lies in San Bernardino County in the Mojave Desert.-Geography:...
. They are west of the Whipple Mountains
Whipple Mountains
The Whipple Mountains, 'Avii Kur'utat in the Mojave language, are located in eastern San Bernardino County, California. They are directly west of the Colorado River, Parker Dam, and Lake Havasu; south of Needles, California; north of Parker, Arizona and Vidal, California; and northeast of Vidal...
and Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
. The Turtle Mountains reach an elevation of 4231 feet (1,289.6 m) above sea level at Bolson Peak. They are a registered National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...
in recognition of their exceptional natural values.
Geology
The Turtle Mountains are one of several ranges that constitute the Maria Fold and Thrust BeltMaria Fold and Thrust Belt
The Maria fold and thrust belt is a portion of the North American Cordillera orogen in which geological structures accommodate roughly north-south to northwest-southeast vergent Mesozoic age crustal shortening. This lies in contrast to the remainder of the Cordillera, in which shortening is...
. The Maria Fold and Thrust Belt underwent generally thick-skinned
Thick-skinned deformation
Thick-skinned deformation is a geological term which refers to crustal shortening that involves basement rocks and deep-seated faults. Crustal shortening occurs when the region is undergoing horizontal compression. This occurs in orogenesis, or mountain building, during which the crust is shortened...
(involving basement rocks) North-South trending crustal shortening in the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
, followed by generally East-West
East-West
-Side two:-Personnel:* Paul Butterfield — vocals, harmonica* Mike Bloomfield — electric guitar* Elvin Bishop — electric guitar, lead vocal on "Never Say No"* Mark Naftalin — piano, organ* Jerome Arnold — bass...
trending large-scale crustal extension in the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
. This North-South shortening is anomalous, as crustal shortening in the rest of the North American Cordillera
North American Cordillera
The North American Cordillera is the North American portion of the American Cordillera which is a cordillera extending up and down the western side of the Americas. The North American Cordillera covers an extensive area of mountain ranges, intermontane basins, and plateaus in western North...
is oriented generally East-West because of the generally East-West compression that was due to the subduction of the Farallon plate
Farallon Plate
The Farallon Plate was an ancient oceanic plate, which began subducting under the west coast of the North American Plate— then located in modern Utah— as Pangaea broke apart during the Jurassic Period...
under western North America. Also unlike the rest of the North American Cordillera, deformation in the Maria Fold and Thrust Belt involved rocks of the North American Craton, most notably the Grand Canyon sequence
Geology of the Grand Canyon area
The geology of the Grand Canyon area exposes one of the most complete and studied sequences of rock on Earth. The nearly 40 major sedimentary rock layers exposed in the Grand Canyon and in the Grand Canyon National Park area range in age from about 200 million to nearly 2 billion years old...
of sedimentary rocks.
Turtle Mountains Wilderness Area
The Turtle Mountains Wilderness Area ranges from broad bajadas to highly eroded volcanic peaks, spires, and cliffs. The colorful Turtle Mountains vary from deep reds, browns, tans and grays, to black. The area has numerous springs and seeps. The Turtle Mountains are considered part of the greater Lower Colorado River ValleyLower 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.
Natural history
The Turtle Mountains are located in an ecological transition zone between the Mojave DesertMojave 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...
(High Desert
High Desert (California)
The High Desert is an unofficial and vaguely-defined geographic area of southern California located to the northeast of the San Gabriel Mountains. The term "High Desert" is used most commonly by the news media, especially in weather forecasts, and in the names of businesses and organizations...
) and 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...
region 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...
(Low Desert
Low Desert
The Low Desert is a common name for one the Deserts of California regional areas, that includes the Colorado Desert and Yuha Desert in the Southern California portion of the Sonoran Desert...
) and therefore contains a high diversity of plant and animal species. The Turtle Mountain range is a northern or southern 'delimiter of occurrence' for some species; for example the endangered California Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera
Washingtonia filifera
Washingtonia filifera , with the common names California Fan Palm , Desert Fan Palm, Cotton palm, and Arizona Fan Palm. It is a palm native to southwestern North America between an elevation range of , at seeps, desert bajadas, and springs where underground water is continuously available...
, encounters the northern limit of its range in the Mopah-Turtle Mountains.
Dominate vegetation in the Turtle Mountains Wilderness Area consists of the creosote bush-bur sage with Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and the palo verde-cactus shrub ecosystems with the Palo Verde tree
Parkinsonia microphylla
Parkinsonia microphylla is a species of palo verde native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico .- Overview :It is a bristling, upright-branching tree, mostly found on slopes, and is one of the...
(Parkinsonia microphylla). In the washes, Colorado/Sonoran microphylla woodlands can be found. These woodlands include such things as Smoke Tree
Psorothamnus spinosus
Psorothamnus spinosus, known as the Smokethorn, Smoketree, Smoke tree, Indigobush, Smokethorn dalea, and Corona de Cristo, is a perennial legume tree common to the desert washes of the southern part of California, Arizona, and most of Baja California, including islands in the northern Sea of Cortez-...
(Psorothamnus spinosus), Honey Mesquite
Prosopis velutina
Prosopis velutina, commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium sized perennial tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran...
(Prosopis velutina), and Catclaw
Acacia greggii
Acacia greggii is a species of Acacia native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and Nuevo León in...
(Acacia greggii).
Wildlife species include Desert Bighorn Sheep
Desert Bighorn Sheep
The Desert Bighorn Sheep is a subspecies of Bighorn Sheep that occurs in the desert Southwest regions of the United States and in the northern regions of Mexico. The trinomial of this species commemorates the American naturalist Edward William Nelson...
, coyote, black-tailed jackrabbit
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
The black-tailed jackrabbit , also known as the american desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level to up to...
s, ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, quail, roadrunner
Roadrunner
Roadrunners are birds of the genus Geococcyx.Roadrunner or Road Runner may also refer to:* Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, an animated character based on the bird** The Road Runner Show, compiled cartoons including the character...
s, golden eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
s, prairie falcon
Prairie Falcon
The Prairie Falcon is a medium-sized falcon of western North America.It is about the size of a Peregrine Falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm , wingspan of 1 metre , and weight of 720 g...
s, rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
s, the Desert Tortoise
Desert Tortoise
The desert tortoise is a species of tortoise native to the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. They can be located in western Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah. The species name agassizii is in honor of...
and several species of lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s.
Recreation
HikingHiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, horseback riding, camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
, rock hounding, photography, and backpacking
Backpacking (wilderness)
Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...
can be enjoyed in this wilderness. The area is popular with rock hounding hobbyists and is nationally known for chalcedony
Chalcedony
Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic...
specimens in a form known as "Mopah Roses." The natural palm oases
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
of Coffin, Mopah, and Mohawk Springs, are popular hiking destinations.
External links
- Official Turtle Mountains Wilderness Area website
- BLM Turtle Mountains Wilderness Map
- Turtle Mountains Wilderness photographs
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