Turtle Mountains (California)

Turtle Mountains
Turtle Mountains
	Aerial view of the Turtle Mountains
Highest point
Elevation	960 ft (290 m)
Coordinates	34°17′10″N114°51′3″W / 34.28611°N 114.85083°W
Geography
	Turtle Mountains Location of the Turtle Mountains in southeastern California
Country	United States
State	California
District	San Bernardino County
Topo map	USGS Mopah Peaks
U.S. National Natural Landmark
Type	NNL
Date	1973

Last updated June 30, 2024

The Turtle Mountains (Amat 'Achii'ar in the Mojave language),^[3] are located in northeastern San Bernardino County, in the southeastern part of California. 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 also a National Natural Landmark, with two mountain sections of entirely different composition.

Geography

The Turtle Mountains are 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Needles, California, west off of U.S. Highway 95; with Vidal Junction close on the southeast, Twentynine Palms to the west, and Blythe is south.^[4] The Turtle Mountains are considered part of the greater Lower Colorado River Valley region.

The range is directly west of and connected with the Mopah Range.^[5] 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 4,231 feet (1,290 m) above sea level at Bolson Peak. They are a registered National Natural Landmark in recognition of their exceptional natural values.^[6]

Geology

The Turtle Mountains are one of several ranges that constitute the Maria Fold and Thrust Belt. 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.

Wilderness

Established in 1994 by the U.S. Congress, the Turtle Mountains Wilderness ranges from broad bajadas to highly eroded volcanic peaks, spires, and cliffs. The 177,309 acre wilderness area is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and is bordered by the Stepladder Mountains Wilderness to the north.^[7]

Natural history

The Turtle Mountains are located in an ecological transition zone between the Mojave Desert ( 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.^[8]

Dominant 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 jackrabbits, ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, quail, roadrunners, golden eagles, prairie falcons, rattlesnakes, the desert tortoise ^[9] and several species of lizards.^[6]

Recreation

Hiking, 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.^[6]

Related Research Articles

The Sonoran Desert is a hot desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States. It is the hottest desert in both Mexico and the United States. It has an area of 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Rosa Mountains (California)</span> Mountain range in California

The Santa Rosa Mountains are a short mountain range in the Peninsular Ranges system, located east of the Los Angeles Basin and northeast of the San Diego metropolitan area of southern California, in the southwestern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Desert</span> Subdivision of the larger Sonoran Desert, California

Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately 7 million acres, including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna.

Washingtonia filifera, the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm, is a flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the far southwestern United States and Baja California, Mexico. Growing to 15–20 m (49–66 ft) tall by 3–6 m (10–20 ft) broad, it is an evergreen monocot with a tree-like growth habit. It has a sturdy, columnar trunk and waxy, fan-shaped (palmate) leaves.

The Chocolate Mountains of California are located in Imperial and Riverside counties in the Colorado Desert of Southern California. The mountains stretch more than 60 miles (100 km) in a northwest to southeast direction, and are located east of the Salton Sea and south and west of the Chuckwalla Mountains and the Colorado River. To the northwest lie the Orocopia Mountains.

The Chuckwalla Mountains are a mountain range in the transition zone between the Colorado Desert—Sonoran Desert and the Mojave Desert, climatically and vegetationally, in Riverside County of southern California.

The Big Maria Mountains are located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of California, near the Colorado River and Arizona. The range lies between Blythe and Vidal, and west of U.S. Route 95 in California and east of Midland. The mountains are home to the Eagle Nest Mine and reach an elevation of 1,030 m (3,380 ft). A power line that runs from Parker Dam to Yuma, Arizona runs through the range. A smaller range, the Little Maria Mountains, lie to the west of the Big Marias.

The Orocopia Mountains are located in Riverside County in southern California, United States, east of the Coachella Valley, west of the Chuckwalla Mountains, and south of Interstate 10 in the Colorado Desert. The range lies in an east-west direction, and is approximately 18 miles long. The Orocopia Mountains are north of and overlooking the Salton Sea and south of Joshua Tree National Park, with the Chocolate Mountains to the southeast and the scenic Mecca Hills just northwest.

The Whipple Mountains 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 Junction, California.

The Little Maria Mountains are located in southeastern California in the United States. The range lies in a northwest-southeasterly direction east of the Palen Mountains and west of the Big Maria Mountains. The mountain range is approximately 15 miles long and is located about 12.6 miles north of Interstate 10, and 12 miles southwest of the abandoned Rice Army Airfield near State Route 62. The Victor Mine is found at the southeastern end of the range near Midland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stepladder Mountains</span> Mountain range in southern California, United States

The Stepladder Mountains are located in southeastern California in the United States. The range, found in San Bernardino County, is home to the 84,199-acre (approximate) Stepladder Mountains Wilderness, which protects the Desert tortoise, California's state reptile. The mountains are located east of the Old Woman Mountains and north of the Turtle Mountains, about 29 miles (47 km) southeast of the town of Essex.

The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument is a National Monument in southern California. It includes portions of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountain ranges, the northernmost ones of the Peninsular Ranges system. The national monument covers portions of Riverside County, west of the Coachella Valley, approximately 100 miles (160 km) southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

The Maria fold and thrust belt (MFTB) 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 predominantly east–west. Structures associated with the Maria Fold and Thrust Belt are exposed in a series of mountain ranges in southeastern California and western Arizona. Many of the deep structures of the MFTB have been exposed due to east–west to northeast-southwest Cenozoic age extension and unroofing.

The Mopah Range is a desert mountain range, in the Lower Colorado River Valley region, in southeastern San Bernardino County, California.

The Riverside Mountains are a mountain range in Riverside County, California. The town of Vidal, California is located in the West Riverside Mountains.

The Harcuvar Mountains are a narrow mountain range in western-central Arizona, United States. The range lies just east of the north–south Colorado River, and south of the east–west, west-flowing Bill Williams River, from Alamo Lake.

The Rawhide Mountains are a mountain range of western Arizona, in the southwest of Mohave County. It is part of a block of mountain ranges on the north of an insular region called the Maria fold and thrust belt, containing mountain ranges, valleys, and plains. The Rawhide Mountains border the much smaller Artillery Mountains southeast, bordering on Alamo Lake State Park and the south-flowing Big Sandy River.

The Date Creek Mountains is a short, arid range in southwest Yavapai County, Arizona. Congress is on its southeast foothills, and Wickenburg lies 15 mi (24 km) southeast.

Flora of the Colorado Desert, located in Southern California. The Colorado Desert is a sub-region in the Sonoran Desert ecoregion of southwestern North America. It is also known as the Low Desert, in contrast to the higher elevation Mojave Desert or High Desert, to its north.

Sand to Snow National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in San Bernardino County and northern Riverside County, Southern California.

References

↑ "Turtle Mountains". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2009-05-04.
↑ "Turtle Mountains Natural Area". nps.gov. National Park Service.
↑ Munro, P.; et al. (1992). A Mojave Dictionary. Los Angeles: UCLA.
↑ "California map" (PDF). BLM. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
↑ Parker, Arizona–California, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quad, USGS, 1985
1 2 3 "California report". BLM. Archived from the original on 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
↑ Turtle Mountains Wilderness - Wilderness Connect
↑ Hogan, C. Michael (2009). Stromberg, Nicklas (ed.). "California Fan Palm: Washingtonia filifera". GlobalTwitcher.com. Archived from the original on 2009-09-30.
↑ Farah, Troy (2021-01-18). "Trump administration proposes 11th-hour plan to strip California desert protections". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-01-20.

Reference books

Allan, Stuart (2005). California Road and Recreation Atlas. Benchmark Maps. pp. 107 & 113. ISBN 0-929591-80-1.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[gnis-1] "Turtle Mountains". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2009-05-04.

[2] "Turtle Mountains Natural Area". nps.gov. National Park Service.

[3] Munro, P.; et al. (1992). A Mojave Dictionary. Los Angeles: UCLA.

[BLM-4] "California map" (PDF). BLM. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2010-06-20.

[5] Parker, Arizona–California, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quad, USGS, 1985

[BLM2-6] 1 2 3 "California report". BLM. Archived from the original on 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2010-06-20.

[7] Turtle Mountains Wilderness - Wilderness Connect

[8] Hogan, C. Michael (2009). Stromberg, Nicklas (ed.). "California Fan Palm: Washingtonia filifera". GlobalTwitcher.com. Archived from the original on 2009-09-30.

[9] Farah, Troy (2021-01-18). "Trump administration proposes 11th-hour plan to strip California desert protections". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-01-20.

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