User:Matthewedwards/AV: Difference between revisions
convert template fix |
|||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
The Antelope Valley is a [[graben]], the result of the surrounding mountains uplifting due to [[fault (geology)|fault activity]]. The [[San Andreas Fault]] enters the valley from the western tip at <<thingymajig>>, and runs parallel to Portal Ridge and the Sierra Pelona range, forming a long, narrow basin in which lie Lake Hughes and Elizabeth Lake. It continues through Soledad Canyon and along the foot of the San Gabriels out of the valley into San Bernadino County.<ref>http://geohazards.usgs.gov/cfusion/qfault/qf_web_disp.cfm?qfault_or=759&ims_cf_cd=cf&disp_cd=C</ref><ref>http://geohazards.usgs.gov/cfusion/qfault/qf_web_disp.cfm?qfault_or=1524&ims_cf_cd=cf&disp_cd=C</ref> |
The Antelope Valley is a [[graben]], the result of the surrounding mountains uplifting due to [[fault (geology)|fault activity]]. The [[San Andreas Fault]] enters the valley from the western tip at <<thingymajig>>, and runs parallel to Portal Ridge and the Sierra Pelona range, forming a long, narrow basin in which lie Lake Hughes and Elizabeth Lake. It continues through Soledad Canyon and along the foot of the San Gabriels out of the valley into San Bernadino County.<ref>http://geohazards.usgs.gov/cfusion/qfault/qf_web_disp.cfm?qfault_or=759&ims_cf_cd=cf&disp_cd=C</ref><ref>http://geohazards.usgs.gov/cfusion/qfault/qf_web_disp.cfm?qfault_or=1524&ims_cf_cd=cf&disp_cd=C</ref> |
||
The valley floor decreases gently from an elevation of around {{convert|4000|ft|m|abbr= |
The valley floor decreases gently from an elevation of around {{convert|4000|ft|m|abbr=off}} on the flanks of the Tehachapi Mountains, to an [[endorheic]] [[depression (geology)|depression]] lying near the northwest corner of the valley where, at an elevation of {{convert|2300|ft|m|abbr=on}}, the [[Rosamond Dry Lake|Rosamond]], [[Buckhorn Dry Lake|Buckhorn]] and [[Rogers Dry Lake]]s are found.<ref name="(U.S.)1911" /> These [[dry lake|playa]]s are all bisected by the LA – Kern County boundary lines. The topography of the Antelope Valley is characterized by a {{convert|2200|sqmi|km2|abbr=off}} broad [[plain]] of undulating [[alluvial fan]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ca.water.usgs.gov/groundwater/gwatlas/basin/single.html |title=Ground Water Atlas of the United States - Segment 1 California Nevada |publisher=[[USGS]] |accessdate=June 23, 2011 }}</ref> throughout which scattered mountain peaks or [[butte]]s are distributed.<ref name="Marriam 249">{{cite journal |last=Merriam |first=John C |authorlink= |year=1915 |month=March |title=Extinct Faunas of the Mojave Desert |journal=[[The Popular Science Monthly]] |volume=86 |issue=15 |page=249 |publisher=Bonnier Corporation |issn=0161-7370 |accessdate=June 6, 2011 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=JSYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA245 |ref= }}</ref> Examples of these are Fairmont Butte,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=154:3:3262606568831721::NO::P3_FID,P3_TITLE:242145%2CFairmont%20Butte |title=Feature Detail Report for Fairmont Butte |date=January 19, 1981 |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=June 24, 2011 }}</ref> Antelope Buttes,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=154:3:3262606568831721::NO::P3_FID,P3_TITLE:1656423%2CAntelope%20Buttes |title=Feature Detail Report for Antelope Buttes |date=January 19, 1981 |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=June 24, 2011 }}</ref> Quartz Hill,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=154:3:734950495789884::NO::P3_FID,P3_TITLE:247872%2CQuartz%20Hill |title=Feature Detail Report for Quartz Hill |date=January 19, 1981 |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=June 24, 2011 }}</ref> Alpine Butte,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=154:3:734950495789884::NO::P3_FID,P3_TITLE:269499%2CAlpine%20Butte |title=Feature Detail Report for Alpine Butte |date=January 19, 1981 |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=June 24, 2011 }}</ref> and Piute Butte.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=154:3:734950495789884::NO::P3_FID,P3_TITLE:1661236%2CPiute%20Butte |title=Feature Detail Report for Piute Butte |date=January 19, 1981 |publisher=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |accessdate=June 24, 2011 }}</ref> |
||
The vegetation of the Antelope Valley is limited to desert-type flora, and is in marked contrast to that found on the western side of the Tehachapis or the mountains in Los Angeles National Forest which are prevalent with oak, sycamore and willow trees, and grass-covered floor. Entering the valley from these ranges, the change in vegetation is sudden. The valley floor is covered in [[desert]] [[shrubland|brush]], and ''[[Eschscholzia californica]]'' (California poppy), ''[[Larrea tridentata]]'' (creosote bushes), ''[[Quercus berberidifolia]]'' (scrub oak), and ''[[Yucca brevifolia]]'' (Joshua trees) are the only native flora.<ref name="Marriam 249" /> Except for junipers, true arboreals are rare<ref name="Marriam 249" /> (the Joshua tree is not really a tree as it is not woody, does not produce annual growth rings, and is closely related to [[agave]]s and [[lily|lillies]]). The only other trees are those imported into the region by man, such as fruit trees during the late 1800s and early to mid-1900s and [[arecaceae|palm trees]]. |
The vegetation of the Antelope Valley is limited to desert-type flora, and is in marked contrast to that found on the western side of the Tehachapis or the mountains in Los Angeles National Forest which are prevalent with oak, sycamore and willow trees, and grass-covered floor. Entering the valley from these ranges, the change in vegetation is sudden. The valley floor is covered in [[desert]] [[shrubland|brush]], and ''[[Eschscholzia californica]]'' (California poppy), ''[[Larrea tridentata]]'' (creosote bushes), ''[[Quercus berberidifolia]]'' (scrub oak), and ''[[Yucca brevifolia]]'' (Joshua trees) are the only native flora.<ref name="Marriam 249" /> Except for junipers, true arboreals are rare<ref name="Marriam 249" /> (the Joshua tree is not really a tree as it is not woody, does not produce annual growth rings, and is closely related to [[agave]]s and [[lily|lillies]]). The only other trees are those imported into the region by man, such as fruit trees during the late 1800s and early to mid-1900s and [[arecaceae|palm trees]]. |
||
Revision as of 17:43, 1 October 2011
 | This is not a Wikipedia article: It is an individual user's work-in-progress page, and may be incomplete and/or unreliable. For guidance on developing this draft, see Wikipedia:So you made a userspace draft. Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
Geography
The Antelope Valley is a desert region located in the northern part of Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California. It constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert, lying in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains on the southeast, the Sierra Pelona Mountains and Portal Ridge on the southwest, and the Tehachapi Mountain Ranges on the northwest.
The eastern and northern boundaries are not so easily defined, especially by noticeable geographic features such as mountains, but in 1911 a United States Geological Survey (USGS) Water-Supply Paper noted a region of detrital rock that stretches for about ten miles between Rosamond Buttes and Cottonwood Creek in the Tehachapi Mountains. Water on the northern and eastern sides of this area drain towards the northeast and the town of Mojave in Fremont Valley.[1] On the southeast edge of the valley another area of detritus was found to run along the San Gabriel Mountains and separate the AV from Victor Valley, which is in San Bernadino County. On the western side of the divide, water from Little Rock and Big Rock drains into the Antelope Valley, but to the east, it probably drains into the Mojave River.[1] The USGS thus identified the eastern border of the Antelope Valley as lying about six miles east of Llano, through Black Butte and towards Haystack Butte along the LA County – San Bernadino County border, and the northern edge of the valley following the Tehachapi Mountains detritus and the BNSF railroad north of Rogers Dry Lake which loosely parallels State Route 58 Business.[2]
The Antelope Valley is a graben, the result of the surrounding mountains uplifting due to fault activity. The San Andreas Fault enters the valley from the western tip at <<thingymajig>>, and runs parallel to Portal Ridge and the Sierra Pelona range, forming a long, narrow basin in which lie Lake Hughes and Elizabeth Lake. It continues through Soledad Canyon and along the foot of the San Gabriels out of the valley into San Bernadino County.[3][4]
The valley floor decreases gently from an elevation of around 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) on the flanks of the Tehachapi Mountains, to an endorheic depression lying near the northwest corner of the valley where, at an elevation of 2,300 ft (700 m), the Rosamond, Buckhorn and Rogers Dry Lakes are found.[1] These playas are all bisected by the LA – Kern County boundary lines. The topography of the Antelope Valley is characterized by a 2,200 square miles (5,700 square kilometres) broad plain of undulating alluvial fans,[5] throughout which scattered mountain peaks or buttes are distributed.[6] Examples of these are Fairmont Butte,[7] Antelope Buttes,[8] Quartz Hill,[9] Alpine Butte,[10] and Piute Butte.[11]
The vegetation of the Antelope Valley is limited to desert-type flora, and is in marked contrast to that found on the western side of the Tehachapis or the mountains in Los Angeles National Forest which are prevalent with oak, sycamore and willow trees, and grass-covered floor. Entering the valley from these ranges, the change in vegetation is sudden. The valley floor is covered in desert brush, and Eschscholzia californica (California poppy), Larrea tridentata (creosote bushes), Quercus berberidifolia (scrub oak), and Yucca brevifolia (Joshua trees) are the only native flora.[6] Except for junipers, true arboreals are rare[6] (the Joshua tree is not really a tree as it is not woody, does not produce annual growth rings, and is closely related to agaves and lillies). The only other trees are those imported into the region by man, such as fruit trees during the late 1800s and early to mid-1900s and palm trees.
The valley was named for the Pronghorn antelopes that are said to have roamed there until being eliminated by hunters and bad weather in the 1880s. The principal cities in the Antelope Valley are Palmdale and Lancaster.
References
- ^ a b c Johnson, Harry R. (1911). "Water Resources of Antelope Valley". United States Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 278. United States Government Printing Office: 10. Retrieved June 24, 2011.http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/wsp278
- ^ Johnson (1911) pp. 11-12
- ^ http://geohazards.usgs.gov/cfusion/qfault/qf_web_disp.cfm?qfault_or=759&ims_cf_cd=cf&disp_cd=C
- ^ http://geohazards.usgs.gov/cfusion/qfault/qf_web_disp.cfm?qfault_or=1524&ims_cf_cd=cf&disp_cd=C
- ^ "Ground Water Atlas of the United States - Segment 1 California Nevada". USGS. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
- ^ a b c Merriam, John C (1915). "Extinct Faunas of the Mojave Desert". The Popular Science Monthly. 86 (15). Bonnier Corporation: 249. ISSN 0161-7370. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "Feature Detail Report for Fairmont Butte". Geographic Names Information System. January 19, 1981. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Feature Detail Report for Antelope Buttes". Geographic Names Information System. January 19, 1981. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Feature Detail Report for Quartz Hill". Geographic Names Information System. January 19, 1981. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Feature Detail Report for Alpine Butte". Geographic Names Information System. January 19, 1981. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Feature Detail Report for Piute Butte". Geographic Names Information System. January 19, 1981. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- 50 ft (15 m)
- 100 ft (30 m)
- 150 ft (46 m)
- 200 ft (61 m)
- 250 ft (76 m)
- 500 ft (150 m)
- 750 ft (230 m)
- 1,000 ft (300 m)
- 1,500 ft (460 m)
- 2,000 ft (610 m)
- 2,500 ft (760 m)
- 3,000 ft (910 m)
- 3,500 ft (1,100 m)
- 4,000 ft (1,200 m)
- 4,500 ft (1,400 m)
- 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
- 6,000 ft (1,800 m)
- 7,000 ft (2,100 m)
- 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
- 9,000 ft (2,700 m)
- 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
- 11,000 ft (3,400 m)