The Dome Rock Mountains are a mountain range in southern La Paz County , Arizona . The range borders the Colorado River on the west and the Colorado River Indian Reservation on the northwest located in the Lower Colorado River Valley . Quartzsite, Arizona lies on the eastern foothills of the range.
17-531: The Dome Rock Mountains are on the southwest of the regional Maria fold and thrust belt . The Dome Rock Mountains are a north-south trending range about 30 miles (48 km) long. The Palo Verde Valley borders the range on the west, adjacent to the Colorado River . Interstate 10 bisects the range connecting Ehrenberg on the Colorado River with Quartzsite to the east of the mountains. Quartzsite lies on
34-527: A registered National Natural Landmark in recognition of their exceptional natural values. The Turtle Mountains are one of several ranges that constitute the Maria Fold and Thrust Belt . The Maria Fold and Thrust Belt underwent generally thick-skinned (involving basement rocks ) North-South trending crustal shortening in the Cretaceous , followed by generally east–west trending large-scale crustal extension in
51-694: The Miocene . This North-South shortening is anomalous, as crustal shortening in the rest of the North American Cordillera is oriented generally east–west because of the generally east–west compression that was due to the subduction of the Farallon plate under western North America. Also unlike the rest of the North American Cordillera, deformation in the Maria Fold and Thrust Belt involved rocks of
68-625: The Mojave Desert ( High Desert ) and Colorado Desert region of the Sonoran Desert ( Low Desert ) and therefore contains a high diversity of plant and animal species. The Turtle Mountain range is a northern or southern 'delimiter of occurrence' for some species; for example the endangered California fan palm ( Washingtonia filifera ) encounters the northern limit of its range in the Mopah-Turtle Mountains. Dominant vegetation in
85-741: The North American Craton , most notably the Grand Canyon sequence of sedimentary rocks. Established in 1994 by the U.S. Congress, the Turtle Mountains Wilderness ranges from broad bajadas to highly eroded volcanic peaks, spires, and cliffs. The 177,309 acre wilderness area is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and is bordered by the Stepladder Mountains Wilderness to the north. The Turtle Mountains are located in an ecological transition zone between
102-554: The subduction of the Farallon slab beneath western North America. At the Maria fold-and-thrust-belt, compressional deformation shifts to being generally north–south, with the front of the mountain ranges being defined by a roughly east–west line. This line then shifts gently to the east-southeast, where the Cordilleran deformation diffuses into a broad shear zone in northeastern Mexico . Another notable feature that differentiates it from
119-707: The Turtle Mountains Wilderness Area consists of the creosote bush-bur sage with creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ) and the palo verde-cactus shrub ecosystems with the palo verde tree ( Parkinsonia microphylla ). In the washes, Colorado/Sonoran microphylla woodlands can be found. These woodlands include such things as smoke tree ( Psorothamnus spinosus ), honey mesquite ( Prosopis velutina ), and catclaw ( Acacia greggii ). Wildlife species include desert bighorn sheep , coyote, black-tailed jackrabbits , ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, quail, roadrunners , golden eagles , prairie falcons , rattlesnakes ,
136-543: The central and northern perimeter of the Maria fold-and-thrust-belt, approximately paralleling the Rawhide Mountains , a slight northwest range on west end.) 33°53′54″N 114°35′32″W / 33.8984°N 114.5923°W / 33.8984; -114.5923 Turtle Mountains (California) The Turtle Mountains (Amat 'Achii'ar in the Mojave language ), are located in northeastern San Bernardino County , in
153-729: The east through the Colorado River Indian Reservation, and I 10 . Quartzsite is in the east center of the range and provides numerous access points. Ehrenberg to the west provides access to areas of the western mountain flank. Miners' graves and a cabin have been found near the Yellow Dog Mine. Maria fold and thrust belt The Maria fold and thrust belt (MFTB) is a portion of the North American Cordillera orogen in which geological structures accommodate roughly north–south to northwest-southeast vergent Mesozoic age crustal shortening . This lies in contrast to
170-507: The extension resulted in the emplacement of metamorphic core complexes , the 'type example' of which is defined by the Whipple Mountains in southeastern California. The Maria fold-and-thrust-belt is defined as the region where the compression that helped create the North American Cordillera – abruptly changed directions. North of the Maria fold-and-thrust-belt, the mountain ranges trend north–south, with east–west compression due to
187-466: The north Middle Camp Mountain rises to 2,515 feet (767 m) about 2 miles (3 km) north of I-10. Numerous mines and dry washes are located in the range. The western mountain washes drain to the Colorado River, and the eastern washes drain into the La Posa Plain and the north-flowing Tyson Wash. The northern portion of the mountains can be accessed from the west via Arizona State Route 95 ; from
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#1732858117319204-525: The remainder of the Cordillera, in which shortening is predominantly east–west. Structures associated with the Maria Fold and Thrust Belt are exposed in a series of mountain ranges in southeastern California and western Arizona . Many of the deep structures of the MFTB have been exposed due to east–west to northeast-southwest Cenozoic age extension and unroofing. In some parts of this fold-and-thrust-belt region,
221-489: The rest of the Cordillera is that the deformation involves the rocks of the North American craton . Deformation in the remainder of the Cordillera only involves rocks that were part of the near-shore and offshore, sedimentary sequences. Since soils and climate differ across the Maria fold-and-thrust-belt, this regional geologic structure can be considered a "dividing line" for a number of flora and fauna species. For example,
238-582: The southeast, Twentynine Palms to the west, and Blythe is south. The Turtle Mountains are considered part of the greater Lower Colorado River Valley region. The range is directly west of and connected with the Mopah Range . They lie in a north–south direction east of Ward Valley and the Old Woman Mountains . They are west of the Whipple Mountains and Colorado River . The Turtle Mountains reach an elevation of 1310+ meters (4297.9+ feet). They are
255-434: The southeastern part of California . The colorful Turtle Mountains vary from deep reds, browns, tans and grays, to black. The area has numerous springs and seeps. The Turtle Mountains are also a National Natural Landmark , with two mountain sections of entirely different composition. The Turtle Mountains are 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Needles, California , west off of U.S. Highway 95 ; with Vidal Junction close on
272-490: The species range of the endangered California Fan Palm , Washingtonia filifera does not extend north of the Maria fold-and-thrust-belt, or more specifically the Turtle Mountains . The Maria fold-and-thrust-belt comprises a large number of ranges in the south-eastern Mojave and north-western Sonoran deserts, including the: List of some regional landforms. (The ~east-west Bill Williams River appears as part of
289-564: The western edge of the La Posa Plain which drains the western Kofa National Wildlife Refuge . The Tyson Wash drainage flows north at the western perimeter of the La Posa Plain and turns westwards at the north end of the Dome Rock Mountains to meet the Colorado River region. Cunningham Mountain at 3,314 feet (1,010 m) is the highest peak of the Dome Rock Mountains and is located about 6 miles (10 km) south of Interstate 10. In
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