366 Adventiires in Scenery 



mountains. The water table is highest beneath the upper parts 

 of the principal alluvial fans. In the lower parts of the valley 

 the beds near the surface are composed of clay and silt, and these 

 act as a nearly water-tight cover over the underlying water- 

 bearing beds. These impervious beds extend for some distance 

 up the alluvial slopes, and this provides the conditions necessary 

 for an artesian flow. Many flowing wells have been obtained 

 about Lancaster, and northwest of Rosamond dry lake or playa. 



Cantil, 126 miles; Ricardo, 130 miles; Indian Wells, 152 

 miles. 



To the north the highway lies along the edge of the Mojave 

 Desert, with the Sierra Nevada Range rising on the left. 

 Twenty-two miles north of Mojave the highway leaves Mojave 

 Desert and crosses the western end of the El Paso Range into 

 Indian Wells Valley. Seventeen miles north of Mojave the 

 mouth of Jawbone Canyon is passed. Southwest of Jawbone 

 Canyon high mountains rise (Chuckwalla Mountain, 5,006 

 feet; Cross Mountain, 5,175 feet; and farther southwest Cache 

 Peak, 6,708 feet) . The mountains extend many miles west- 

 ward to the south end of the Sierra Nevada Range. 



El Paso Mountains Cut Through 

 by Deep Canyon 



The El Paso Mountains extend to the northeast, and have 

 their southwest end at Redrock Canyon, near Cantil. The 

 southeast face of the El Paso Range is straight and very steep, 

 marking the line of the Garlock fault, which continues north- 

 eastward for many miles. Twenty miles east is the Randsburg 

 mining district, from which many millions in value of gold, 

 silver, and tungsten have been taken. Five miles east of the 

 highway is Kane Dry Lake or playa. Near the north end of 

 the playa is Saltdale, where pure crystalline rock salt is mined 

 in commercial quantities. Southwest of Cantil to Jawbone 

 Canyon is an area of badlands which extends 5 to 10 miles west 

 to the foot of the Sierra Range. The scenery, particularly 



