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36-575: The dunes are located west of the Chocolate Mountains in Imperial County , and are crossed by Interstate 8 and State Route 78 , which passes through the old train stop of Glamis at the eastern edge of the dune field. The northwestern end is located at 33°8′53″N 115°19′29″W  /  33.14806°N 115.32472°W  / 33.14806; -115.32472 about 11 miles (18 km) east of Calipatria, California , and

72-535: A Great Basin Shrubland ( 7 ) vegetation form. Research indicates that there is significant reduction in the diversity and abundance of species in dune areas subject to heavy ORV traffic. A two-year survey of dune insects revealed over 1100 species were present, at least 60 of which were new to science. As they are the largest dune ecosystem in the United States , there are many species which are endemic to

108-573: A lawsuit in 2000 closed over 49,000 acres (20,000 ha) to vehicular access, leaving about 40% of the recreation area open to vehicles. In 2014, a significant portion (approximately 40,000 acres) of this area was re-opened for vehicular use. It is the largest sand dunes open to off-highway vehicle use in the United States. The site's large sand dunes are a preferred terrain for many off-road vehicle owners. Motorcycles , sandrails , ATVs , and 4-wheel-drive vehicles are commonly driven across

144-542: Is also managed by the Bureau of Land Management. A herd of 25 desert bighorn sheep reside in the wilderness area, along with "the Picacho feral horses ," wild burros , and the native and endangered desert tortoise and spotted bat . California Desert Protection Act The California Desert Protection Act of 1994 is a federal law ( Pub. L.   103–433 ) sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein , passed by

180-482: Is indicated by a thrust fault which emplaced Proterozoic and Mesozoic rocks of continental crust on top of the late Mesozoic Orocopia Schist which in turn was composed of oceanic sedimentary and volcanic rocks. The range was host to numerous small gold workings in the 19th century with one, the Mesquite Mine to the east, continuing to be active into the 20th century. The Bradshaw Trail passed by

216-622: Is planned to address this. The dunes were used to film parts of Road to Morocco , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Garden of Allah (1936 film) , Tobruk , Stargate , Resident Evil: Extinction , Jumanji: The Next Level and the Tatooine scenes in Return of the Jedi . John Ford made the 1934 version of The Lost Patrol (1934 film) here. Outside of movies, the dunes also appear in

252-485: Is quite dramatic. Ravines laced within the range gradually broaden into sandy, tree-lined washes. Slopes and plains are devoid of vegetation, instead covered with a desert pavement of angular cobbles. These rusty dark orange and brown colored cobbles stand out against the nearly white bottoms of the washes. It is also called the Little Picacho Peak Wilderness . The Indian Pass Wilderness Area

288-652: Is to the north with 32,008 acres (129.53 km ) of open space. The Indian Pass Wilderness is a distinctive part of the Chocolate Mountains, a range which extends from south central Riverside County to the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona. Quartz Peak is the highest point in the wilderness capped at 2,200 feet (670 m). Jagged peaks and spires are sliced by mazes of twisting canyons which carry water from occasional desert cloudbursts into several tree-lined washes. One of these washes passes through

324-775: 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 Chocolate Mountains form the northeast boundary of the Salton Trough extending as a narrow range some 80 miles (130 km) southeast from

360-693: The Gran Desierto de Altar in Mexico, but this is difficult to ascertain without biological surveys of the latter area. Among insects, there are dozens of species found only in Algodones or its neighboring areas, including: In August 2006, federal wildlife officials decided not to list these species under the Endangered Species Act, due primarily to insufficient documentation of their distribution and phenology ; biological survey work

396-786: The National Park System and the National Wilderness Preservation System in order to preserve the unrivaled scenic, geologic and wildlife values of these lands; perpetuate their significant and diverse ecosystems; protect and preserve their historical and cultural values; provide opportunities for compatible outdoor public recreation, protect and interpret ecological and geological features, maintain wilderness resource values, and promote public understanding and appreciation; retain and enhance opportunities for scientific research in undisturbed ecosystems. U.S. Senator Alan Cranston (D–CA) introduced

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432-557: The Orocopia Mountains to the Colorado River valley. The mountains are located about 30 miles (48 km) west of the Chocolate Mountains of Arizona , but the two ranges are not connected. The range reaches an elevation of 2,475 feet (754 m) at Mount Barrow, and serves as a drainage divide for the Salton Watershed to the west. The mountains receive very little rainfall in a normal year, typically 4-6 inches (100 to 150 mm). The predominant natural plants are of

468-650: The United States Congress on October 8, 1994, and signed into effect by President Bill Clinton on October 31 of the same year, that established three separate National Park System units in California 's Mojave Desert : Death Valley National Park , Joshua Tree National Park , and Mojave National Preserve . Designated 69 wilderness areas as additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System within

504-472: The creosote bush –white bursage community, and the mean annual temperature is about 60 °F (16 °C) to 75 °F (24 °C). The range is composed of Precambrian basement rocks and Orocopia Schist with Mesozoic granite intrusions. The range may have been formed by the collision of a microcontinental fragment with mainland Southern California during the Late Cretaceous. The collision

540-458: The Algodones system, so the region overall is biologically unique on a global scale. The Algodones were once part of an even greater dune system that now resides primarily in the Mexican state of Sonora , with a few extensions also in southwestern Arizona , especially in the vicinity of Yuma . Accordingly, it is likely that many of the species presently known only from the Algodones also occur in

576-853: The California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA), the Yuma District, the Bakersfield District, and the California Desert District of the Bureau of Land Management . Permits grazing in such areas. The Act abolished Death Valley National Monument, established in 1933 and 1937, and incorporated its lands into a new Death Valley National Park administered as part of the National Park System. Grazing of domestic livestock

612-564: The California Desert Protection Act as a bill for consideration by the U.S. Congress for the first time in 1986 and several times after, with his final attempt occurring in 1992. Around that time, on April 2, 1990, the Mojave desert tortoise was listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 as a threatened species, but there was still resistance in the U.S. Senate to any bill that would prohibit certain uses of

648-474: The California desert public land resources are threatened by adverse pressures which impair their public and natural values; the California desert is a cohesive unit posing difficult resource protection and management challenges; statutory land unit designations are necessary to protect these lands. Congress declared as its policy that appropriate public lands in the California desert must be included within

684-546: The California desert, such as hunting and grazing, in order to protect desert life, even if such life included species threatened with extinction. Senator Cranston retired in 1993 and was succeeded by Barbara Boxer (D–CA), while John Seymour (R–CA), who was Cranston's fellow U.S. Senator from California and who opposed the bill, lost his election to challenger Dianne Feinstein (D–CA) that same year. In 1993, both U.S. Senators from California, Feinstein and Boxer, as well as President Clinton pledged support of legislation to protect

720-554: The Chocolate Mountains range are two important wilderness areas. The first is the Little Picacho Wilderness , a 38,170 acre (154.5 km ) region of geological features and habitat protection under the direction of the Bureau of Land Management . The preserve has within its boundaries the southern portion of the Chocolate Mountains. Elevations within this area range from 200 to 1,500 feet (460 m). The topography, characterized by jutting spires and steep ridges,

756-815: The Imperial Valley and Mexicali Valley dried it up before reaching there; other times it turned westward toward the Salton Sink . Each time the Salton Sink received the river flow, a large freshwater lake called Lake Cahuilla formed. The last Lake Cahuilla covered much of the Imperial , Coachella and Mexicali Valleys as late as 1450. The most popular theory holds that the Algodones Dunes were formed from windblown beach sands of Lake Cahuilla. The prevailing westerly and northwesterly winds carried

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792-585: The Mojave National Preserve, consisting of approximately 1,419,800 acres (5,746 km ; 2,218.4 sq mi), and abolished the East Mojave National Scenic Area, which was designated in 1981. The preserve was to be administered in accordance with National Park System laws. Hunting, fishing and trapping were permitted as allowed by federal and state laws, with certain exceptions. Mining claims were governed by

828-584: The National Park System laws, and grazing was permitted to continue at no more than the then-current level. The Act required the Secretary of the Interior to ensure that indigenous people have access to the lands designated under the Act for traditional cultural and religious purposes, in recognition of their prior use of these lands for these purposes. Upon the request of an indigenous tribe or religious community,

864-503: The Secretary must temporarily close specific portions to the general public to protect the privacy of traditional cultural and religious activities. Flights by military aircraft over the lands designated by the Act were not restricted or precluded, including overflights that can be seen or heard from these lands. The Act authorized Congress to appropriate to the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, for

900-620: The area are the All-American Canal that cuts across the southern portion from east to west and the Coachella Canal on the western edge. Because the Colorado River flowed through very flat terrain, the course of the river varied over a wide area, being periodically diverted in one direction or another by silt deposits remaining after floods. Sometimes the river flowed into the Gulf of California , as it did until irrigation in

936-454: The dunes . Open camping is permitted, and on major winter holidays, as many as 150,000 people can visit in a single weekend. These recreationalists bring an economic boom during the cooler months to the nearby towns of Brawley, California , Yuma, Arizona and El Centro, California . According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential natural vegetation Types, the Algodones Dunes would have a Desert (vegetation absent) ( 46 ) vegetation type and

972-508: The dunes to prove that cars could cross the dunes and to connect San Diego with Yuma, Arizona . This trail eventually became part of Interstate 8 . During World War II , the U.S. military conducted desert warfare training on the dunes, which were part of the California-Arizona Maneuver Area . People have been driving on the dunes for recreation almost since vehicles first reached the area, which may have been

1008-525: The dunes. Most of the dunes located north of State Route 78 are off-limits to vehicular traffic due to designation as the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness . The federal government protected these 25,818 acres (10,448 ha) in the early 1980s and closed them to vehicles as part of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act (Public Law 103-433). Much of the area south of this road remains open for off-highway vehicle use, though

1044-562: The fiscal year 1995-1999 period, sums not to exceed $ 36,000,000 more than that provided in fiscal year 1994 for additional administrative and construction costs, and $ 300,000,000 for land acquisition costs... Congress found that federally owned desert lands of southern California constitute a public wildland resource of extraordinary and inestimable value for current and future generations; these desert wildlands have unique scenic, historical, archeological, environmental, ecological, wildlife, cultural, scientific, educational and recreational values;

1080-730: The heart of the wilderness area, giving rise to the region's local name, "Julian Wash country." The area's proximity to the Colorado River and the Arizona Desert contribute to the presence of wildlife species not commonly found in the California Desert. At the southern end of the Chocolate Mountains at elevations from 200 to 1,500 feet (460 m), the Indian Pass Wilderness preserve is located 50 miles (80 km) east of Brawley, California , and

1116-801: The opening sequence of the TV series Kung Fu , and were the filming location for the music video of Deftones ' 2003 single Minerva . According to the Köppen climate classification system, the Algodones Dunes have a Hot desert climate ( BWh ). According to the United States Department of Agriculture , the Plant Hardiness zone is 10a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 32.7 °F (0.4 °C). Chocolate Mountains The Chocolate Mountains of California are located in Imperial and Riverside counties in

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1152-561: The proving ground for the first dune buggy , a modified Ford Model A . Off-road driving surged following World War II when surplus Jeeps became available to the public. Environmental protection groups (notably the Center for Biological Diversity ) and off-highway vehicle advocacy groups (notably the American Sand Association ) have filed numerous petitions and lawsuits to either restrict or re-open vehicular access to

1188-499: The sand eastward from the old lake shore to their present location which continues to migrate southeast by approximately one foot per year. The dunes have frequently been a barrier to human movement in the area. Foot travelers frequently diverted south into Mexico, and in 1877 the Southern Pacific Railroad was diverted north to avoid the dunes, but in 1915 Colonel Ed Fletcher built a wooden plank road across

1224-571: The side of the mountains, the first "euroamerican" route to the Colorado River from Riverside, California . The mountain range is occupied by the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range , an aerial and gunnery practice area used by the United States Navy and Marines . A large part of the Chocolate Mountains lies within the gunnery range, and is closed to the public. At the southeastern end of

1260-530: The southeastern end is located at 32°41′4″N 114°46′7″W  /  32.68444°N 114.76861°W  / 32.68444; -114.76861 near Los Algodones in Mexico , about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Yuma, Arizona . The dunes are also now separated at the southern end by agricultural land from the much more extensive Gran Desierto de Altar , to which they once were linked as an extreme peripheral "finger". The only significant human-made structures in

1296-535: Was permitted to continue at no more than the then-current level. The Act also required the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability of lands within and outside the boundaries of the park as a reservation for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe . The Act abolished Joshua Tree National Monument, established in 1936, and incorporated its lands into Joshua Tree National Park. The Act established

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