Amargosa Desert
Amargosa Desert | |
---|---|
Nellis Air Force Range | |
Coordinates | 36°30′N 116°30′W / 36.5°N 116.5°W |
River | Amargosa |
The Amargosa Desert is located in Nye County in western Nevada, United States, along the California–Nevada border, comprising the northeastern portion of the geographic Amargosa Valley, north of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.
The desert is named after the Amargosa River, which was named after the Spanish word for bitter because of the bitter taste of the water.[2]
Geography
The Amargosa Desert lies at an elevation of about 2,600 to 2,750 feet (790 to 840 m), and includes Crater Flat and the community of Amargosa Valley, Nevada, (formerly Lathrop Wells), which lies at the southern end of the desert.
The desert lies between the
Natural history
The Amargosa Desert is an arid
History
Prehistory
It is not known when the first humans settled in the Amargosa Desert. Ancient campsites have been found that date back at least 10,000 years, to the end of the last ice age. Recent[
European exploration
The first community in the Amargosa Desert was founded circa 1905 as the result of extensive borax mining in the area. In 1907, two railroads started to service the borax,
Modern development did not begin in the valley until the early 1950s. Electric power, other than that produced by private generators, was not available until 1963. Until the early 1990s growth in Amargosa Valley was minimal. More recently, intense growth in Las Vegas has led many new residents to settle in Amargosa Valley and nearby
Amargosa Valley is near the controversial
Solar power plant
Amargosa Farm Road Solar Project was a proposed 500-megawatt (MW)
Climate
Amargosa Valley has a mild desert climate with very hot summer days and mild winters. The hottest recorded temperature in Amargosa Valley is 118 °F (47.7 °C) on July 9, 2002 and the coldest temperature was 6 °F (-14.4 °C) on December 22, 1990. Average yearly precipitation is 4.29 inches.
Transportation
The principal highways serving Amargosa Valley are
Recreation
Big Dune is a formation of sand dunes, cresting approximately 300 feet (91 m) above surrounding terrain. The dune formation and surrounding land is administered by the
Notes
- ^ "Amargosa Desert". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. December 31, 1981. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
- ISBN 0-520-24217-3.
- ^ BLM. "Amargosa Farm Road Solar Project (NVN-084359) Project Map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-16. Retrieved 2016-05-28.
- ^ Carolyn Campbell (October 12, 2011). "Amargosa Farm Road Switches From CSP to PV". GreenTechMedia.
- ^ Amargosa may get solar project, Mark Waite, Pahrump Valley Times, September 13, 2013