Kelso Dunes

Dunefield in the Mojave Desert, United States

34°54′13″N 115°43′05″W / 34.9034962°N 115.7180508°W / 34.9034962; -115.7180508^[1]Area

• Total45 sq mi (120 km²)Dimensions

• Height650 ft (200 m)Elevation3,074 ft (937 m)

^[1]

Kelso Dunes, also known as the Kelso Dune Field, is the largest field of aeolian sand deposits in the Mojave Desert. The region is protected by the Mojave National Preserve and is located near the town of Baker, San Bernardino County, California, and the Preserve Visitor Center.^[2] The dune field covers 45 square miles (120 km²) and includes migrating dunes, vegetation-stabilized dunes, sand sheets, and sand ramps. The tallest dunes rise up to 650 feet (200 m) above the surrounding terrain.

Geology

The dunes are composed predominantly of light-colored quartz and feldspar, most likely eroded from the granitics of the San Bernardino Mountains to the southwest. Magnetite and amphibole can also be found, often accumulating at the dune crests.

Kelso Dunes represent part of a much larger sand transport system, which includes the nearby Devils Playground region. The composition and morphology of the sand grains indicate that most originated from the Mojave River sink near Afton Canyon, which lies to the west of the dunes' current location. The sand has accumulated at the southeastern end of the Soda Lake-Kelso basin, where the Granite Mountains and Providence Mountains form a barrier to prevailing winds. At present, only the area around the Mojave River sink and the westernmost parts of Devil's Playground are receiving new sand through this system; sand is no longer accumulating at Kelso Dunes itself.

Geography

The Kelso Dunes are composed of five stacked sets of dunes, each set corresponding to a period of climate change over the last 25,000 years. During dry climate episodes, a decrease in stabilizing vegetation exposed surface sand to wind erosion, which ultimately brought the sand to the dunes (most of the eastern part of the Kelso dunes was formed when nearby Soda Lake and Silver Lake dried into their current playas). However, once the sand was emplaced, vegetation began to grow, locking much of it into place.

The Kelso Dunes are also notable for the phenomenon known as singing sand, or "booming dunes". Enthusiasts sometimes climb to the top of the dunes and slide down slowly, generating a low-frequency rumble that can be both felt and heard. This effect has also been noted at the Eureka Dunes in California, Sand Mountain in Nevada, and the Booming Dunes in the Namib Desert of Africa. The booming is much more pronounced when the dunes are extremely dry.

Access

Kelso Dunes are closed to any vehicles, but are completely open to hikers. The trailhead is at the end of a three-mile (5 km) graded dirt road splitting from Kelbaker Road. This road can be accessed from both Interstate 15 (at Baker) and Interstate 40 (east of Barstow). The dunes themselves lie just southwest of the Kelso ghost town and the Park's Visitor Center located in the historic Kelso Depot.^[3]

Endemic Species

Like many southern California dune systems, the Kelso dunes have a number of endemic animal species. The list includes at least ten species of insects, such as the Kelso giant sand treader cricket (Macrobaenetes kelsoensis), the Kelso Jerusalem cricket (Ammopelmatus kelsoensis), Rhaphiomidas tarsalis (a rare Mydas fly), and the Kelso shieldback katydid (Eremopedes kelsoensis).

Although not strictly endemic, several plant and reptile species are rare outside of these dunes. One example is the Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma scoparia), which is specialized in its ability to "swim" under sand.

Sunset over Kelso Dunes in California.

References

^ ^a ^b "Kelso Dunes". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ "Mojave National Preserve (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.
^ "Visitor Centers - Mojave National Preserve (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.

External links

Official Mojave National Preserve website
Kelso Depot Visitors Center
Photo tour of Mojave National Preserve, from USGS
Afton Canyon Natural Area website

Protected areas of California

National Park System

Parks	Channel Islands Death Valley Joshua Tree Kings Canyon Lassen Volcanic Pinnacles Redwood Sequoia Yosemite
Preserves	Mojave
Monuments	Cabrillo Castle Mountains César E. Chávez Devils Postpile Lava Beds Muir Woods Tule Lake
Seashores	Point Reyes
Historical Parks	Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front San Francisco Maritime
Historic Sites	Eugene O'Neill Fort Point John Muir Manzanar
Memorials	Port Chicago Naval Magazine
Recreation Areas	Golden Gate Santa Monica Mountains Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity

Calfiornia State Parks

Parks	Ahjumawi Lava Springs Andrew Molera Angel Island Año Nuevo Anza-Borrego Desert Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland Bidwell–Sacramento River Big Basin Redwoods Border Field Bothe-Napa Valley Burton Creek Butano Calaveras Big Trees Castle Crags Castle Rock Caswell Memorial China Camp Chino Hills Clear Lake Coast Dairies Crystal Cove Cuyamaca Rancho D. L. Bliss Del Norte Coast Redwoods Donner Memorial Dos Rios Ranch Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point Emerald Bay The Forest of Nisene Marks Fort Ord Dunes Fremont Peak Garrapata Gaviota Great Valley Grasslands Grizzly Creek Redwoods Grover Hot Springs Hearst San Simeon Hendy Woods Henry Cowell Redwoods Henry W. Coe Humboldt Lagoons Humboldt Redwoods Jedediah Smith Redwoods Julia Pfeiffer Burns Leo Carrillo Limekiln MacKerricher Malibu Creek Manchester McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial McLaughlin Eastshore Mendocino Headlands Mendocino Woodlands Montaña de Oro Morro Bay Mount Diablo Mount San Jacinto Mount Tamalpais Navarro River Redwoods Pacheco Palomar Mountain Pfeiffer Big Sur Placerita Canyon Plumas-Eureka Point Mugu Portola Redwoods Prairie Creek Redwoods Red Rock Canyon Richardson Grove Rio de Los Angeles Robert Louis Stevenson Russian Gulch Saddleback Butte Salt Point Samuel P. Taylor San Bruno Mountain Sinkyone Wilderness South Yuba River Sue-meg Sugarloaf Ridge Sutter Buttes Tolowa Dunes Tomales Bay Topanga Trione-Annadel Van Damme Washoe Meadows Wilder Ranch
Natural Reserves	Antelope Valley California Poppy Armstrong Redwoods Azalea Caspar Headlands John B. Dewitt John Little Jug Handle Kruse Rhododendron Los Osos Oaks Mailliard Redwoods Mono Lake Tufa Montgomery Woods Point Lobos Smithe Redwoods Torrey Pines Tule Elk
Marine Reserves	Albany Anacapa Island SMR Asilomar Begg Rock Big Creek Bodega Head Cabrillo Carmel Pinnacles Carrington Point Del Mar Landing Elkhorn Slough Emeryville Crescent Estero de Limantour and Drakes Estero Fitzgerald Gerstle Cove Gull Island Harris Point Judith Rock Laguna Beach Long Point Lovers Point Montara and Pillar Point Moro Cojo Slough Morro Bay Natural Bridges Piedras Blancas Point Arena Point Buchon Point Cabrillo Point Dume Point Lobos Point Reyes Point Sur Richardson Rock Russian River Santa Barbara Island Scorpion Sea Lion Gulch Skunk Point South Cape Mendocino Stewarts Point Vandenberg
Historic Parks	Anderson Marsh Antelope Valley Indian Museum Bale Grist Mill Benicia Capitol Bidwell Mansion Bodie California Citrus California State Indian Museum Chumash Painted Cave Colonel Allensworth Columbia El Presidio de Santa Barbara Empire Mine Folsom Powerhouse Fort Humboldt Fort Ross Fort Tejon Governor's Mansion Hearst Castle Indian Grinding Rock Jack London La Purísima Mission Leland Stanford Mansion Los Angeles Los Encinos Malakoff Diggins Marconi Conference Center Marsh Creek Marshall Gold Discovery Monterey Old Sacramento Old Town San Diego Olompali Pigeon Point Light Station Pío Pico Point Sur Railtown 1897 Rancho Petaluma Adobe San Juan Bautista San Pasqual Battlefield Santa Cruz Mission Santa Susana Pass Shasta Sonoma Sutter's Fort Tomo-Kahni Wassama Round House Watts Towers Weaverville Joss House Will Rogers William B. Ide Adobe Woodland Opera House
Beaches	Asilomar Bean Hollow Bolsa Chica Cardiff Carlsbad Carmel River Carpinteria Caspar Headlands Cayucos Corona del Mar Crown Memorial Dockweiler Doheny El Capitán Emma Wood Gray Whale Cove Greenwood Half Moon Bay Huntington Leucadia Lighthouse Field Little River Malibu Lagoon Mandalay Manresa Marina McGrath Montara Monterey Moonlight Morro Strand Moss Landing Natural Bridges New Brighton Pacifica Pelican Pescadero Pismo Point Dume Point Sal Pomponio Refugio Robert H. Meyer Memorial Salinas River San Buenaventura San Clemente San Elijo San Gregorio San Onofre Santa Monica Schooner Gulch Seacliff Silver Strand Sonoma Coast South Carlsbad Sunset Thornton Torrey Pines Trinidad Twin Lakes Westport-Union Landing Will Rogers William Randolph Hearst Memorial Zmudowski
Recreation Areas	Admiral William Standley Auburn Austin Creek Benbow Benicia Bethany Reservoir Brannan Island Candlestick Point Castaic Lake Colusa-Sacramento River Folsom Lake Franks Tract George J. Hatfield Harry A. Merlo Kenneth Hahn Kings Beach Lake Del Valle Lake Oroville Lake Perris Lake Valley Martial Cottle McConnell Millerton Lake Picacho Providence Mountains Salton Sea San Luis Reservoir Silverwood Lake Standish-Hickey Tahoe Turlock Lake Woodson Bridge
Vehicular Recreation Areas	Carnegie Clay Pit Heber Dunes Hollister Hills Hungry Valley Oceano Dunes Ocotillo Wells Prairie City
Other	Burleigh H. Murray Ranch California State Capitol Museum California State Mining and Mineral Museum California State Railroad Museum Castro Adobe Delta Meadows Estero Bay Hatton Canyon Indio Hills Palms Point Cabrillo Light Ishxenta State Park Point Montara Light Reynolds Wayside Campground San Timoteo Canyon Stone Lake Verdugo Mountains Ward Creek Wildwood Canyon

National Forests and Grasslands

National Forests and Grasslands	Angeles Butte Valley NG Cleveland Eldorado Humboldt–Toiyabe Inyo Klamath Lake Tahoe Basin Lassen Los Padres Mendocino Modoc Plumas Rogue River–Siskiyou San Bernardino Sequoia Shasta–Trinity Sierra Six Rivers Stanislaus Tahoe
National Wilderness Preservation System	Agua Tibia Ansel Adams Bucks Lake Caribou Carson–Iceberg Castle Crags Cucamonga Desolation Dick Smith Dinkey Lakes Emigrant Golden Trout Hoover Inyo Mountains Ishi Jennie Lakes John Muir Kaiser Marble Mountain Mokelumne Mount Shasta Wilderness North Fork Pine Creek San Gabriel San Jacinto San Rafael Sanhedrin Sespe Siskiyou Snow Mountain South Fork Eel River South Sierra South Warner Thousand Lakes Trinity Alps Ventana Yolla Bolly–Middle Eel Yuki
National Monuments and Recreation Areas	Giant Sequoia National Monument San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Sand to Snow National Monument Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Smith River National Recreation Area Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area

State Forests
Boggs Mountain Demonstration Ellen Pickett Jackson Demonstration Las Posadas LaTour Demonstration Mount Zion Demonstration Mountain Home Demonstration Soquel Demonstration

National Wildlife Refuges
Antioch Dunes Bitter Creek Blue Ridge Butte Sink Castle Rock Clear Lake Coachella Valley Colusa Delevan Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Ellicott Slough Farallon Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Hopper Mountain Humboldt Bay Imperial Kern Lower Klamath Marin Islands Merced Modoc Pixley Sacramento Sacramento River Salinas River San Diego Bay San Diego San Joaquin River San Luis San Pablo Bay Seal Beach Sonny Bono Salton Sea Stone Lakes Sutter Tijuana Slough Tule Lake

National Wildlife Refuges

State Wildlife Areas

Wildlife Areas	Antelope Valley Ash Creek Bass Hill Battle Creek Big Lagoon Big Sandy Biscar Butte Valley Buttermilk Country Cache Creek Camp Cady Cantara/Ney Springs Cedar Roughs Cinder Flats Collins Eddy Colusa Bypass Coon Hollow Cottonwood Creek Crescent City Marsh Crocker Meadows Daugherty Hill Decker Island Doyle Dutch Flat Eastlker River Eel River Elk Creek Wetlands Elk River Fay Slough Feather River Fitzhugh Creek Fremont Weir Grass Lake Gray Lodge Green Creek Grizzly Island Hallelujah Junction Heenan Lake Hill Slough Hollenbeck Canyon Honey Lake Hope Valley Horseshoe Ranch Imperial Indian Valley Kelso Peak and Old Dad Mountains Kinsman Flat Knoxville Laguna Lake Berryessa Lake Earl Lake Sonoma Little Panoche Reservoir Los Banos Lower Sherman Island Mad River Slough Marble Mountains Mendota Merrill's Landing Miner Slough Monache Meadows Morro Bay Moss Landing Mouth of Cottonwood Creek Napa-Sonoma Marshes North Grasslands O'Neill Forebay Oroville Petaluma Marsh Pickel Meadow Pine Creek Point Edith Putah Creek Rector Reservoir Red Lake Rhode Island Sacramento River San Felipe Valley San Jacinto San Luis Obispo San Luis Reservoir San Pablo Bay Santa Rosa Shasta Valley Silver Creek Slinkard/Little Antelope Smithneck Creek South Fork Spenceville Surprise Valley Sutter Bypass Tehama Truckee River Upper Butte Basin Volta Warner Valley Waukell Creek West Hilmar Westlker River White Slough Willow Creek Yolo Bypass
Ecological Reserves	Albany Mudflats Alkali Sink Allensworth Atascadero Creek Marsh Bair Island Baldwin Lake Batiquitos Lagoon Blue Sky Boden Canyon Boggs Lake Bolsa Chica Bonny Doon Buena Vista Lagoon Butler Slough Butte Creek Canyon Butte Creek House Buttonwillow By Day Creek Calhoun Cut Canebrake Carlsbad Highlands Carmel Bay Carrizo Canyon Carrizo Plains China Point Clover Creek Coachella Valley Coal Canyon Corte Madera Marsh Crestridge Dairy Mart Ponds Dales Lake Del Mar Landing Eden Landing Elkhorn Slough Estelle Mountain Fall River Mills Fish Slough Fremont Valley Goleta Slough Indian Joe Spring Kaweah Kerman King Clone Laguna Laurel Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Lokern Magnesia Spring Marin Islands Mattole River McGinty Mountain Morro Dunes Morro Rock Napa River North Table Mountain Oasis Spring Panoche Hills Peytonia Slough Phoenix Vernal Pools Pine Hill Piute Creek Pleasant Valley Rancho Jamul Redwood Shores River Springs Lakes Saline Valley San Dieguito Lagoon San Elijo Lagoon San Felipe Creek San Joaquin River Santa Rosa Plateau Springville Stone Corral Sycamore Canyon Sycuan Peak Thomes Creek Tomales Bay Upper Newport Bay Watsonville Slough West Mojave Desert Woodbridge Yaudanchi
Marine Protected Areas	Abalone Cove and Point Vicente Anacapa Island SMCA Año Nuevo Arrow Point to Lion Head Point Batiquitos Lagoon Big Creek Bodega Head Bolsa Chica Cambria Campus Point Carmel Bay Cat Harbor Crystal Cove Dana Point Duxbury Reef Edward F. Ricketts Elkhorn Slough Estero Americano Estero de Limantour and Drakes Estero Estero de San Antonio Fagan Marsh Famosa Slough Farnsworth Onshore and Offshore Goleta Slough Greyhound Rock Lovers Cove and Casino Point MacKerricher Marin Islands Morro Bay Naples Pacific Grove Marine Gardens Painted Cave Piedras Blancas Point Arena Point Buchon Point Dume Point Reyes Point Sur Portuguese Ledge Pyramid Point Robert E. Badham Robert W. Crown Russian Gulch Russian River Salt Point San Diego-Scripps San Dieguito Lagoon San Elijo Lagoon Saunders Reef Sea Lion Cove Sonoma Coast Soquel Canyon South La Jolla South Point Southeast Farallon Island Stewarts Point Swami's Tijuana River Mouth Upper Newport Bay Van Damme Vandenberg White Rock (Cambria)

Bureau of Land Management National Conservation Lands

National Monuments	Berryessa Snow Mountain California Coastal Carrizo Plain Cascade–Siskiyou Fort Ord Mojave Trails Sand to Snow Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains
National Conservation Areas	California Desert King Range
Wilderness Areas	Argus Range Big Maria Mountains Bigelow Cholla Garden Bighorn Mountain Black Mountain Bright Star Bristol Mountains Cadiz Dunes Carrizo Gorge Chemehuevi Mountains Chimney Peak Chuckwalla Mountains Chumash Cleghorn Lakes Clipper Mountain Coso Range Coyote Mountains Darwin Falls Dead Mountains Dick Smith El Paso Mountains Fish Creek Mountains Funeral Mountains Garcia Golden Valley Grass Valley Headwaters Forest Reserve Hollow Hills Ibex Indian Pass Inyo Mountains Jacumba Kelso Dunes Kiavah Kingston Range Little Chuckwalla Mountains Little Picacho Machesna Mountain Malpais Mesa Manly Peak Matilija Mecca Hills Mesquite Newberry Mountains Nopah Range North Algodones Dunes North Mesquite Mountains Old Woman Mountains Orocopia Mountains Otay Mountain Owens Peak Pahrump Valley Palen/McCoy Palo Verde Mountains Picacho Peak Piper Mountain Piute Mountains Red Buttes Resting Spring Range Rice Valley Riverside Mountains Rodman Mountains Sacatar Trail Saddle Peak Hills San Gorgonio Santa Lucia Santa Rosa Sawtooth Mountains Sespe Sheephole Valley South Nopah Range Stateline Stepladder Mountains Surprise Canyon Sylvania Mountains Trilobite Turtle Mountains Whipple Mountains

National Marine Sanctuaries
Channel Islands Cordell Bank Greater Farallones Monterey Bay

National Estuarine Research Reserves
Elkhorn Slough San Francisco Bay Tijuana River

University of California Natural Reserve System
Angelo Coast Range Año Nuevo Island Blue Oak Ranch Bodega Marine Box Springs Burns Piñon Ridge Carpinteria Salt Marsh Chickering American River Coal Oil Point Dawson Los Monos Canyon Eagle Lake Field Station Elliott Chaparral Emerson Oaks Fort Ord Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest Hastings James San Jacinto Mountains Jepson Prairie Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Landels-Hill Big Creek Lassen Field Station McLaughlin Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Motte Rimrock Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Point Reyes Field Station Quail Ridge Rancho Marino Sagehen Creek Field Station San Joaquin Marsh Santa Cruz Island Scripps Coastal Sedgwick Stebbins Cold Canyon Steele Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Valentine Eastern Sierra White Mountain Younger Lagoon

University of California Natural Reserve System

Angelo Coast Range
Año Nuevo Island
Blue Oak Ranch
Bodega Marine
Box Springs
Burns Piñon Ridge
Carpinteria Salt Marsh
Chickering American River
Coal Oil Point
Dawson Los Monos Canyon
Eagle Lake Field Station
Elliott Chaparral
Emerson Oaks
Fort Ord
Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest
Hastings
James San Jacinto Mountains
Jepson Prairie
Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh
Landels-Hill Big Creek
Lassen Field Station
McLaughlin
Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland
Motte Rimrock
Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert
Point Reyes Field Station
Quail Ridge
Rancho Marino
Sagehen Creek Field Station
San Joaquin Marsh
Santa Cruz Island
Scripps Coastal
Sedgwick
Stebbins Cold Canyon
Steele Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert
Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains
Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert
Valentine Eastern Sierra
White Mountain
Younger Lagoon

Private Conservation Land Trusts
Agua Hedionda Lagoon Arastradero Preserve Arroyo Conejo Open Space Audubon Canyon Ranch Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area Bluff Lake Big Sur Land Trust California Rangeland Trust Catalina Island Conservancy Claremont Canyon Conservancy Cosumnes River Preserve Fairfield Osborn Preserve Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County Pacific Forest Trust Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Peninsula Open Space Trust Pepperwood Preserve Sanctuary Forest Santa Cruz Island Santa Lucia Preserve Sempervirens Fund Sierra Nevada Alliance Sogorea Te Land Trust The Nature Conservancy Trust for Public Land The Wildlands Conservancy

Private Conservation Land Trusts