Lanfair Valley is located in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California near the Nevada state line. It is bounded on the north by the New York Mountains and Castle Mountains , on the east by the Piute Range , and on the south by the Woods Mountains and Vontrigger Hills . Joshua Trees can be found in most of the valley. Elevation is 4,045 feet.
10-655: The valley proper is drained southeastwards, then due south by the Sacramento Wash ; the wash then turns due-east and combines with the Piute Wash drainage (south out of Nevada ), to immediately enter the west bank of the Colorado River . The dual valley drainage is a U-shape, and the first major dry wash drainage from the west, into the Colorado, south of Lake Mead . The Old Mojave Road traverses
20-545: Is found west of the Buttes at 35°08′43″N 115°09′32″W / 35.14528°N 115.15889°W / 35.14528; -115.15889 , and petroglyphs are found nearby on the slope of the Buttes to the east. Indian Well petroglyphs indicate it was a Native American water source and camping site in previous centuries. Indian Well was also located along the route of the Mohave Trail . The Lanfair Buttes are
30-485: Is now left of the town of Lanfair is rubble. Both Lanfair Valley, and its ghost town, are named for Ernest L. Lanfair, a settlement owner. Tens of thousand of acres in the valley are privately held, despite being located in the Mojave National Preserve . Few people live in the valley today, but at one time there were schools, farms, post offices , and even a railroad . The Hart ghost town site in
40-599: Is on the water divide between the headwaters of a south-flowing section of Lanfair Valley, and a northwesterly section of the south-flowing Piute Wash of Piute Valley (the similar south-trending valley and wash adjacent east). The central part of the valley contains the Grotto Hills (also known as Giotto Hills) and Lanfair Buttes . The valley is home to the Lanfair ghost town at the intersection of Cedar Canyon Road and Lanfair Road. While once thriving, all that
50-563: The Grotto Hills and 8 miles (13 km) north-northeast of Hackberry Mountain in Lanfair Valley . The tallest and northernmost elevation in the Lanfair Buttes is Eagle Mountain at 1338 feet. The southernmost elevation is Indian Hill , at 35°08′36.71″N 115°09′15.34″W / 35.1435306°N 115.1542611°W / 35.1435306; -115.1542611 at an elevation of 1281 feet. Indian Well , an old well
60-544: The drainage southward, then east from the Lanfair Valley of extreme eastern San Bernardino County, California . The drainage combines with the Piute Wash -(mostly of Nevada ) at the south terminus of the Dead Mountains , and immediately enters the Colorado River , just north of Needles, California . Another Sacramento Wash occurs across the Colorado, as an eastern drainage from northwest Arizona , also at Needles, CA. The Lanfair Valley and Sacramento Wash are at
70-545: The eastern perimeter region of the Mojave National Preserve . The Sacramento Wash (California) is part of a 2-valley south-trending drainage system, shaped like a U ; Piute Wash is the eastern part of the drainage; the Sacaramento Wash is the western. The Sacramento Wash turns eastward, combines with other bajada drainages from the west and south, and merges with the Piute Wash, to rapidly descend down from
80-881: The foothills of the Dead Mountains to the western bank of the Colorado River. The approximate center of the Sacramento Wash drainage is the center of Lanfair Valley , the Lanfair Buttes . Lanfair Buttes Lanfair Buttes , also known as Eagle Mountain , Indian Hill , Eagle Hill , Graveyard Hills is a summit in the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California . The Lanfair Buttes lie 3 miles (4.8 km) east-southeast of
90-465: The northeast of the Lanfair Valley is located at 35°17′20″N 115°6′12″W / 35.28889°N 115.10333°W / 35.28889; -115.10333 . Lanfair ghost town site is located at 35°07′36″N 115°11′00″W / 35.12667°N 115.18333°W / 35.12667; -115.18333 . Sacramento Wash (California) The Sacramento Wash (California) is
100-595: The valley center, west to east. It passes eastwards just south of center at the Piute Range , and then through a central-southern stretch of the Piute Valley to its eastern terminus at north of AVI Casino across from FT. Mohave AZ , west bank of the Colorado River opposite [[Fort Mohave Mesa, Arizona| The Castle Mountains National Monument is part of the north and northeast perimeter of Lanfair Valley, (its watershed). The Castle Mountains (California) proper
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