RonnieAdventure #0048 - Mojave National Preserve, San Bernardino County, California

If you are looking for solitude, look no further and head for the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, California. At 1,538,015 acres, you are not going to see a lot of people, and the number of people you do see drops exponentially with the distance from a paved road.

With the passage of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994, the Preserve lands were created from lands previously managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an Agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).

Spread throughout the Preserve are numerous old wagon trails, ghost towns, homesteads and remnants of mining activities. Elevations in the Preserve vary from 880 feet to 7,929 feet, so visitors to the area need to be prepared for all types of weather conditions because weather conditions change quickly and without a lot of warning. Any off-road travel in the Preserve should only be attempted with a 4-wheel drive vehicle that is in good condition. If stranded, the buzzards may find you before the Park Rangers do. Oh! And by the way, be sure to have a full tank of gas, as there are no gas stations within the 1,538,015 acre Preserve.

Some of the more notable natural features in the area include Cima Dome, Kelso Sand Dunes, Marl Mountains, Hole-in-the-Wall, and Cinder Cone Lave Beds. The old Kelso railroad depot has been restored and is now the Preserve’s Visitor Center. The Preserve is also known for its numerous stands of Joshua Trees, which are some of the largest in the world.

Although surrounded by the Preserve, Providence Mountains State Recreation Area and Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve are both managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Unfortunately, Mitchell Caverns is now indefinitely closed to the public.

Cima Dome is very symmetrical and was formed deep under the Earth’s surface 80-180 million years ago when the Farallon Plate was being subducted beneath the North American Plate. At its widest point, the Dome is a little over 10 miles in diameter and covers about 70-square miles. The total elevation change above the desert floor is about 1,500 feet, but the rise is so symmetrical that the elevation lines on a topographical map resemble the rings of a bull’s eye on a target.

 Looking at West Side of Cima dome

Cima Dome Topographical Map

Joshua Tree forest on north side of Cima Dome

Abandoned Homestead in the Preserve

Cellar at Abandoned Homestead

"Looking for Water"

The below-listed pictures taken in 2003 are from a visit to Mitchell Caverns.

Mojave Yucca at Entrance to Mitchell Caverns