Cleghorn Lakes Wilderness
The Cleghorn Lakes Wilderness is a wilderness area in the southern Mojave Desert. It is located northeast of Twentynine Palms, California, and north of Joshua Tree National Park. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Named for the dry lakes found at the center of the wilderness area, this area has a variety of natural resources. The east portion is mountainous while the west portion is a vast alluvial fan and bajada. Elevations range from at the desert floor to the rugged Bullion Mountains, which rise more than across a stretch.
Natural history
Wildlife includes Desert bighorn sheep on the slopes, and desert tortoise in the valley floor and bajada habitats.
Native plants include: Barrel cactus, and Smoke trees " in some bajadas. The Cleghorn Lakes offer occasional spring wildflower displays. The Crucifixion Thorn shrub has been found near the eastern edge of the wilderness boundary. It is native to California, Arizona, and Sonora state in Mexico. It listed by the California Native Plant Society as rare in California, but is more common elsewhere in the lower Sonoran Deserts.
