Eastern Mojave Vegetation Cedar Canyon Road - Mojave National Preserve  
 

Tom Schweich  

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Literature Cited
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Full 
Size Image The Mojave Road west of Cedar Canyon. Full Size Image Plaque dedicated to the Mojave Road    

Mojave Road

This plaque, and the road behind it, are portions of the historic Mojave Road.

Literature Cited:
- Burn Area Emergency Response Team, 2005.
- , .    

 
 

Other Articles: Kelso Cima Road: at Cedar Canyon Road  

Junction:
  • Kelso Cima Road, northeast to Cima, or southwest to Kelso.
  • Historic Mojave Road, west to Marl Spring.
 

Locations: Leppy Water (Tank).  

Leppy Water (Tank).
Full 
Size Image Curcurbita palmata along Cedar Canyon Road.     Coyote Melon (Curcurbita palmata) along Cedar Canyon Road. This photograph was taken in September 1998, after a very wet summer.
Full 
Size Image Rattlesnake on Cedar Canyon Road.     Rattlesnake along the lower portion of Cedar Canyon Road. This photograph was taken in April, 1999, and this snake was very aggressive, opposite of the snake seen below.

Literature Cited:
- Thompson, David G., 1921.

Other Articles: Routes to Water: at Cedar Cyn Rd  

Junction: Road to Thomas Place, Death Valley Mine, and Cima.

Thompson's (1921) route between Cima and Fenner follows this road past the Death Valley Mine.

Other Articles: Routes to Water: near Cedar Cyn  

Road descends into Cedar Canyon.

Literature Cited:
- Yeaton, R. I., R. W. Yeaton, J. P. Waggoner III and J. E. Horenstein., 1985. Full Size Image Vegetation along Cedar Canyon Road.    

Cedar Canyon Road is the upper portion of the elevational gradient studied by Yeaton, et al. (1985). This little valley south of Cedar Canyon Road is at 1525 m elevation, the elevation of the next-to-highest of Yeaton, et al.'s (1985) plots.
Full 
Size Image Lower Cedar Canyon after the Hackberry Complex Fire.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 16-Oct-05 in Cedar Canyon

Locations: Cedar Canyon.  

View west into Cedar Canyon.
Full Size Image Burned Joshua tree in Cedar Canyon

Other Articles: Field Notes: 16-Oct-05 in Cedar Canyon  

Burned Joshua tree in Cedar Canyon.

Other Articles: Black Canyon Road: at Cedar Cyn Rd  

Junction: Black Canyon Road, west into Kelso Valley to Kelso-Cima Road, or east past Rock Springs into Lanfair Valley.
Full 
Size Image Unknown fungi on telephone road in Cedar Canyon.     Undetermined fungi along telephone road in Cedar Canyon, near west end of Pinto Mountain.
Full 
Size Image Patchy burned areas on Pinto Mountain.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 15-Oct-05 in Cedar Cyn  

The south face of Pinto Mountain as seen from Cedar Canyon road. This photo was taken after the Hackberry Complex Fire.
Full 
Size Image View of Cedar Canyon from Pinto Mountain

Other Articles: Field Notes: 15-Oct-05 at Pinto Mountain

Locations: Cedar Canyon.  

Cedar Canyon and the road as seen from the south face of Pinto Mountain.
Full 
Size Image Cedar Canyon as seen from Pinto Mountain  

Locations: Cedar Canyon.  

 
Full 
Size Image Peach Springs Tuff, Winkler Formation, and Wild Horse Mesa Tuff on the south side of Pinto Mountain.     View of Winkler Formation on the south side of Pinto Mountain. The lower unit on the left is Peach Springs Tuff. The middle unit, just right of center, is Winkler Formation. The volcanic unit in the upper right is Wild Horse Mesa Tuff.
Full 
Size Image Winkler Formation, with Cedar Canyon in the background.

Other Articles: Eastern Mojave Geology: 520000

Locations: Cedar Canyon.  

View of an outcrop of the Winkler Formation on the south side of Pinto Mountain, with Cedar Canyon in the background. The dark ledge in the lower right corner of the photograph is the top of the Winkler Formation. The Winkler Formation also crops out as the light-colored rocks in the middle distance. The rocks above the Winkler Formation are the Hole-in-the-Wall Tuff.
Full 
Size Image Winkler Formation on the south side of Pinto Mountain

Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: at Pinto Mountain  

Another view of the same outcrop. The Winkler Formation is seen in the lower left. The Hole-in-the-Wall Tuff is above.

A few stakes marking location of some Swertia albomarginata can be seen in the lower right corner.

Full 
Size Image Two burros (Equus assinus) along Cedar Canyon Road     Two burros (Equus assinus) along Cedar Canyon Road, under a Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma). Round Valley is in the background.
 

Locations: Pinto Mountain.  

Pinto Mountain

This is my location 3, where I have a study plot of Swertia albomarginata.
Full Size Image Winkler Formation at Pinto Mountain.     The Winkler Formation crops just above the base of Pinto Mountain. This is one of three locations in the eastern Mojave where it does. The other two are: the north slope of Wild Horse Mesa and Hackberry Mountain.
Full 
Size Image Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindracus) at the base of the south side of Pinto Mountain.     A large Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindracus) at the base of Pinto Mountain.
Full Size Image Rattlesnake on Cedar Canyon Road.     Rattlesnake on Cedar Canyon Road.
Full Size Image Two more burros seen along Cedar Canyon Road.     Two burros along Cedar Canyon Road. The burro on the right seemed like it wanted to approach us, as it would walk several steps toward us, then stop and back away.
Full 
Size Image Government Holes.  

Locations: Government Holes.  

Government Holes

Government Holes is across the wash south of Cedar Canyon Road. The eastern Mojave folklore is that Government Holes is the site of the only fatal shoot-out in the eastern Mojave. It was apparently the sheep herders against the cattlemen.
Full 
Size Image New York Mountains as seen from Bert Smith Rock House at Rock Spring  

Locations: New York Mountains.  

 
 

Locations: Rock Spring.  

Rock Spring

At Rock Spring is the Rock House, Fort Rock Spring, and Rock Spring itself.
Full Size Image Bert Smith Rock House in April, 2004. Full Size Image Bert Smith Rock House  

Locations: Rock Spring.  

The "Rock House," occupied for a time by Carl Faber, who is now a well-known desert artist.
Full 
Size Image Rock Spring  

Locations: Watson Wash.  

Rock Spring is in an un-named wash that that drains Round Valley. As the wash comes through the granite, the water is forced to the surface, making Rock Spring one of the more reliable springs in the eastern Mojave. Rock Spring empties into Watson Wash which can be seen in the distance.

Literature Cited:
- Jaeger, Edmund C, 1965. Full Size Image Red-spotted toad (Bufo punctatus)    

The Red-spotted toad (Bufo punctatus) is found at Rock Spring. Confined to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, the red-spotted toad is less than 3 inches long and has with small, squat, vermillion-tipped warts (Jaeger, 1965). Spawning occurred the last week in April, 1996, when this picture was taken.

Other Articles: Pinto Valley Road: 10000

Locations: Watson Wash.  

Junction

Junction: Pinto Valley Road

This road joins Cedar Canyon Road in Watson Wash. Take this road, not the next one.

There is another road on the east side of Watson Wash that heads north toward the New York Mountains. I've never taken it, but have heard that it is little used, and difficult in spots.

Other Articles: Caruthers Canyon Road: 50000  

Junction: Caruthers Canyon Road.

Theory would have it that you could take this road to Caruthers Canyon. I've never done it and therefore cannot give you an assessment of the road. When destined for the New York Mountains, I usually take Pinto Valley Road, from near Rock Spring, or take New York Mountain Road from Ivanpah Road.

Literature Cited:
- Thompson, David G., 1921. Full Size Image Piute Canyon. Full Size Image Piute Canyon. Full Size Image Road to Fort Piute.

Other Articles: Ivanpah Road: at Lanfair and Cedar Canyon Roads. Lanfair Road: Lanfair Routes to Water: Unable to find an article page.

Locations: Lanfair.  

Lanfair

Junctions:
  • Ivanpah Road, north through Lanfair Valley to Ivanpah Valley.
  • Road to Fort Piute, east through the Piute Range.
  • Lanfair Road, south past Hackberry mountain to Goffs.
     

Literature Cited

  A list of all literature cited by this web site can be found in the Bibliography.
 
Burn Area Emergency Response Team. 2005. Burned Area Emergency Stabilization Plan: Hackberry Complex. Primm, Nevada: National-Interagency Burned Area Emergency Response Team, July 5, 2005.

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
[Null Author]. . County of San Bernardino vs. U. S. Department of Interior. {TAS-pdf}
 
Jaeger, Edmund C. 1965. The California Deserts. 4th Edition. Stanford, California.: Stanford University Press.
 
Thompson, David G. 1921. Routes to Desert Watering Places in the Mohave Desert Region, California. Water-Supply Paper 490-B.. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survey, 1921. {TAS}

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
Yeaton, R. I., R. W. Yeaton, J. P. Waggoner III and J. E. Horenstein. 1985. The ecology of Yucca (Agavaceae) over an environmental gradient in the Mohave Desert: distribution and interspecific interactions. Journal of Arid Environments. 8: 33-44.

Location records referred to by this literature:

  • Mid Hills, San Bernardino County, California.
If you have a question or a comment you may write to me at: tas4@schweich.com I sometimes post interesting questions in my FAQ, but I never disclose your full name or address.  


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Date and time this article was prepared: 5/8/2008 9:39:56 AM