Desert Region of California

The Desert Region is a tourism region of southeastern California (USA) as defined by the California Travel & Tourism Commission.

The region includes the Mohave Desert area of California, the Low Desert part of the Sonoran Desert area around Palm Springs, several national and state parks and preserves, the Chocolate Mountains, and several military areas. The area encompasses Imperial County, the eastern and southern portion of Inyo County, the eastern portion of Kern County, and much of San Bernardino County and Riverside County. The western Inland Empire region of these last two counties is not included in the Desert Region.

The Desert Region is bordered on the east by Arizona, the south by Mexico, and on the west by several California regions, including the Inland Empire, San Diego County, Los Angeles County, Central Valley Region, and High Sierra.

Protected areas

*Mojave National Preserve
*Death Valley National Park
*Joshua Tree National Park

*Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
*Mount San Jacinto State Park
*Red Rock Canyon State Park
*Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
*Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area
*Salton Sea
*Amboy Crater
*Pipes Canyon Preserve
*Big Morongo Canyon Preserve
*Rainbow Basin
* part of the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge
* part of the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge
*Pinnacles National Natural Landmark, a group of tufa spires in the northern Mojave Desert of California

Department of Defense operations

*Edwards Air Force Base
*China Lake Naval Weapons Center
*Fort Irwin Military Reservation
*Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base
*Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range

Population centers

Communities include: Adelanto, Amboy, Apple Valley, Baker, Barstow, Big Bear Lake, Blythe, Brawley, Boron, Borrego Springs, Calexico, California City, Calipatria, Cantil, China Lake, Coachella, Daggett, Darwin, Deep Springs, Desert Center, El Centro, Essex, Fort Irwin, Furnace Creek, Heber, Hinkley, Holtville, Homewood Canyon-Valley Wells, Imperial, Indian Wells, Inyokern, Johannesburg, Joshua Tree, Keeler, Kramer Junction, Landers, Lone Pine, Mojave, Montclair, La Quinta, Needles, Newberry Springs, Niland, Ocotillo, Olancha, Palm Springs, Pearsonville, Rancho Mirage, Randsburg, Ridgecrest, Rosamond, Salton City, Seeley, Shoshone, Tecopa, Trona, Twentynine Palms, Victorville, Westmorland, Yermo, Yucca Valley

Other sights

* Calico, California - a ghost town
* Pioneertown - an Old West motion picture set tourist attraction
* Zzyzx - site of the Desert Studies Center
* Bradshaw Trail

References

* [http://www.visitcalifornia.com/media/pages/getting_around/maps/DESERTS.pdf Map of Desert Region] - Visit California

External links

* [http://www.visitcalifornia.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Desert&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=1&ContentID=2038&cttcTemplate=explorecalifornia/Desert/ Visit California: Desert]