Little San Bernardino Mountains

Little San Bernardino Mountains
Mountain Range
Little San Bernardino Mountains
Country	United States
State	California
District	Riverside / San Bernardino
Coordinates	33°58′27.039″N 116°19′0.031″W
Highest point
- elevation	1,137 m (3,730 ft)
Timezone	Pacific (UTC-8)
- summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
Topo map	USGS East Deception Canyon
location of Little San Bernardino Mountains in California

The Little San Bernardino Mountains are a short mountain range of the Transverse Ranges, located in southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 40 mi (64 km) southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to near the northeast edge of the Salton Sink and Salton Sea. The community of Palm Springs looks north across the Coachella Valley to the range.

Geography

The range transitions the separation from the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert on the south to the Mojave Desert on the north. The peaks vary in height from approximately 4,000–5,000 ft (1,200–1,650 m). The range highpoint is Quail Mountain (California), elevation 5,813' (1,772 m).

Habitats

Much of the eastern end of the range is within Joshua Tree National Park. Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is also located in the Little San Bernardino Mountains. The oasis here contains one of the ten largest cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and red willow (Salix laevigata) Riparian zone habitats in California. It was identified as an area of concern by the Bureau of Land Management in 1982. The only native palm to California, Washingtonia filifera, or the Desert fan palm which is an endangered species in nature while prevalent in gardens.

Aqueduct

The Colorado River Aqueduct, which provides drinking water for Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego, runs along the southwest edge of the mountains.

Panorama of the view south from Keys View in the Little San Bernardino Mountains, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA. Visible landmarks are the Salton Sea (230 ft below sea level) at rear left, along towards the center the Santa Rosa Mountains behind Indio and the San Jacinto Mountains behind Palm Springs. In the valley floor, the San Andreas Fault is visible. At the rear right is the 11,500 ft San Gorgonio Mountain.

See also

• Cahuilla
• Colorado Desert index