Yuha Desert
Encyclopedia
The Yuha Desert is a section of the Sonoran Desert
located in the Imperial Valley of California
; south of Interstate 8
, west of El Centro, CA, and north of the international border.
Unique aspects of the Yuha Desert include the Oyster Shell Beds, De Anza Historical Monument, Crucifixion Thorn Natural Area, and the Yuha geoglyph
. It is the homeland of the Quechan
Native American
people.
The Yuha Desert is designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern by the Bureau of Land Management
and is managed as a limited use area for biologic and archeologic resource conservation. The primary species of concern is the flat-tailed horned lizard
. Off Highway Vehicles(OHV) are limited to signed routes to protect both the flat-tail horned lizard habitat and the archeologic resources including, lithic reduction
sites, and historic use of the region.
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...
located in the Imperial Valley of 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...
; south of Interstate 8
Interstate 8
Interstate 8 is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Blvd, in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with Interstate 10, just southeast of Casa Grande, Arizona...
, west of El Centro, CA, and north of the international border.
Unique aspects of the Yuha Desert include the Oyster Shell Beds, De Anza Historical Monument, Crucifixion Thorn Natural Area, and the Yuha geoglyph
Geoglyph
A geoglyph is a large design or motif produced on the ground and typically formed by clastic rocks or similarly durable elements of the geography, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth...
. It is the homeland of the Quechan
Quechan
The Quechan are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the border with Mexico...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people.
The Yuha Desert is designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern by the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau 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...
and is managed as a limited use area for biologic and archeologic resource conservation. The primary species of concern is the flat-tailed horned lizard
Flat-tail Horned Lizard
The Flat-tail Horned lizard is named for Colonel George A. M'Call. M'Call collected the first specimen in California in the 19th century. They occupy a small range in the Sonoran Desert of southwestern California, southwestern Arizona, and extreme northern Mexico...
. Off Highway Vehicles(OHV) are limited to signed routes to protect both the flat-tail horned lizard habitat and the archeologic resources including, lithic reduction
Lithic reduction
Lithic reduction involves the use of a hard hammer precursor, such as a hammerstone, a soft hammer fabricator , or a wood or antler punch to detach lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone called a lithic core . As flakes are detached in sequence, the original mass of stone is reduced; hence the...
sites, and historic use of the region.