Eastern Mojave Vegetation Tom Schweich
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Eastern Mojave Vegetation | Basin Road - Mojave Desert |
| Tom Schweich |
 Topics in this Article: Literature Cited |
(No
Preface) | |
| | Other Articles: Interstate 15: at Basin Road |
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Literature Cited:
Ventifact Hill
| The easily accessible vertifacts at "Ventifact Hill," east of Afton Canyon, are just a few of the many spectacular examples of sandblasted rocks that are to be found in the east-central Mojave Desert. They have formed in a corridor of wind transport which moved sand from the Mojave River eastward through the Devil's Playground, and ultimately towards the Kelso Dunes. Most of the ventifacts in this region are fossil or relict in nature, attesting to a time of greater sediment availability and possibly higher velocity winds. Today, areas of active ventifact formation are limited to a few hill crests where dune sand is being reworked by bidirectional winds (From the Author's Introduction, Laity, 2000). |  Chilopsis
linearis "Desert Willow" 
Chilopsis linearis "Desert Willow" 
Larrea tridentata "Creosote Bush" 
Larrea tridentata "Creosote Bush"
This area along Basin Road is the
beginning of the "Mojave Sink," where the Mojave River sinks into the sand and gravels. Occasionally the water will go northeast along Basin Road and into the Cronese Basin after passing under U. S. Interstate 15. Here is a combination of three large desert shrubs: Creosote (Larrea tridentata), Mesquite (Prosopis sp.), and Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis ssp. arcuata).
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Junction: Iron Mine Road
| The road to the right goes to an operating iron mine. There is a locked gate in the valley between the mountains ahead. However, before you get to the gate is a small dug pond that held water in April 2000. | Literature Cited: Cave
Canyon (Baxter) Limestone Deposits
| The metamorphosed Paleozoic limestone has been mined since the Pacific Marble Quarries Company opened operations in 1925. The iron deposits on the opposite side of the ridge have been mined since the 1930's (Reynolds & Reynolds, 2000) Growing in the rocks and limestone cliffs, I found several "Rock Nettles" (Eucnide urens). My collection Number 213 was taken from this plant. | Other Articles: Afton Road: 22000 Junction: Afton Road. |
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| Literature CitedA list of all literature cited by this web site can be found in the Bibliography.
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| Laity, June. 2000. Ventifacts in the Mojave River Corridor and at "Ventifact Hill". pp. 37-39 in Reynolds, Robert E., and Jennifer Reynolds, 2000. Empty Basins, Vanished Lakes: A Field Guide to Afton, Baxter, Tecopa, Shoshone, Pahrump and Kingston. San Bernardino County Museum Association Quarterly. 47(2). Redlands, CA: San Bernardino County Museum Association, 2000. ...
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| Reynolds, Robert E., and Jennifer Reynolds. 2000. Empty Basins, Vanished Lakes: A Field Guide to Afton, Baxter, Tecopa, Shoshone, Pahrump and Kingston. San Bernardino County Museum Association Quarterly. 47(2). Redlands, CA: San Bernardino County Museum Association, 2000. {TAS} Location records referred to by this literature:
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| | Date and time this article was prepared: 5/15/2008 12:32:26 PM |
