The term "High Desert" is commonly used by local news media,[1] especially in weather forecasts, because of the high desert's unique and moderate weather patterns compared to its low desert neighbors. The term "High Desert" serves to differentiate it from southern California'sLow Desert, which is defined by the differences in elevation, climate, animal life, and vegetation native to these regions. For instance,Palm Springs, at 500 feet (150 m) above sea level, is considered "Low Desert"; in contrast,Landers at 3,100 feet (940 m) above sea level, is considered "High Desert".
The High Desert, along with the "Mojave River Valley" and theVictor Valley, is mostly used to describe the area centered aroundVictorville. The region extends as far west asLancaster, as far southwest asPalmdale, and north to theBarstow desert.[2] "High Desert" has also been incorporated into the names of businesses and organizations in these areas.[3][4] The term "High Desert" is also erroneously used to refer to the communities north and west ofJoshua Tree National Park—Twentynine Palms and theMorongo Basin (Yucca Valley), which are actually in an area called the Hi-Desert.[5] These communities are at a higher elevation than theLow Desert that encompasses theCoachella Valley andImperial Valley in far southern California.
Old Woman Springs Ridge in the high desert, Johnson Valley, California
Depending on how the boundaries of the Mojave and the Colorado Desert region are defined, the High Desert either includes the entire California portion of theMojave Desert (using a smaller geographic designation than itsecoregion) or the northern portion of the California desert (using a larger geographic designation including theecotope area of the lower and adjacentSonoran Desert).
The name of the region comes from its higher elevations and more northern latitude with associated climate andplant communities distinct from theLow Desert, which includes theColorado Desert and the below-sea-levelSalton Sea. The High Desert is typically windier than the Low Desert, and it averages 12 to 20 °F cooler in both the winter and summer seasons.
San Bernardino County's portion of the High Desert region contains the most land mass of the four involved counties, making up approximately 70% of the total county's area.
TheInyo County portion, north of Kern County and containing the northern end of the Indian Wells Valley,Panamint Valley, andSaline Valley. This is the most sparsely populated area of the High Desert; its major communities areLone Pine in the southernOwens Valley andBishop in the northern.
The major metropolitan centers in the region are primarily centered on the cities ofLancaster andVictorville. Lancaster, the largest city in the High Desert, is located in theAntelope Valley next toPalmdale and anchors the area's Los Angeles County region with ametro area population of just over 500,000. TheVictor Valley area, which includes cities and communities such as Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto, Apple Valley, andLucerne Valley, boasts a population around 385,000.[11] The Barstow area, to the northeast of the Victor Valley, and the Morongo Basin nearJoshua Tree National Park both have populations of around 60,000.
List of cities, towns, and census-designated places
Incorporated places are listed inbold. This list includes all places in the broadest definition of "High Desert". Population figures are most recent information available from the US Census Bureau.
Louis L'Amour's Western novelThe Lonesome Gods uses features of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts in its narrative.
James Spooner's 2022 graphic memoirThe High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere. depicts the author's experiences as a Black teenager in the punk rock scene of Apple Valley.
Boomtowns that prospered duringRoute 66 and railroad travel in the early 20th century includeAmboy,Cima andLudlow, and are also used in principal photography and location shots.
The Right Stuff (1983), based on the 1979 non-fiction book byTom Wolfe about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar research with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft atEdwards Air Force Base as well as documenting the stories of the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the NASA space program.
Space Cowboys (2000), one of many examples that featureEdwards Air Force Base in the 1940s used in experimental test flights and for shuttle landings with the NASA Space Program.
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