The Chuckwalla Valley is a large valley in eastern Riverside County, California, named for a large lizard, the chuckwalla found in the arid Southwestern United States deserts.
The region of the valley in southeast California, is the low elevation section of the Mojave Desert transitioning into the Colorado Desert, the northwest extension (in California) of the Sonoran Desert. The region is notable for valleys containing bajadas, sand dunes, and intermittent, dry, or saline lakes. Chuckwalla Valley contains Ford Lake (Ford Dry Lake)Coordinates of southeast end of Chuckwalla Valley, topozone in the east-southeast; Palen Lake (Palen Dry Lake) occurs in the center-northwest, at the south terminus of the smaller, north–south Palen Valley.
The south end of the valley expands slightly northwest-by-southeast, and contains Danby Dry Lake, a 13-mi (21 km) long dry lake, or playa. Mountain ranges surround the valley on all sides. The neighboring valleys eastward over the mountain ranges, Chemehuevi Valley, Vidal Valley, and Rice Valley are all western tributary valleys to the south-flowing Colorado River along the Lower Colorado River Valley corridor.
The center of the valley is approximately just east of the Oro Plata MineOro Plata Mine, Old Woman Mountains at the east of the Old Woman Mountains.
Geography The map of California showing the location of Ward Valley, also shows the low elevation green, low valleys, south of the 'map location point'. The northwest-by-southeast section, contains the three dry lake beds, from west to east: Bristol Lake, Cadiz Dry Lake, and Danby Lake.
Geographically, the entire region of Ward Valley is a transition from higher elevation bajadas and mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert, to lower elevation sections of Mojave Desert, and the northwest region of the Sonoran Desert in southeast California, called the Colorado Desert. The region has mostly arid mountain ranges, bajadas, flatlands, sand dune fields (from prevailing, seasonal winds), and playas (salt-flats).
The lengthy north section of Ward Valley is drained by one major wash, named Homer Wash. Its outfall end, due to scant rainfall, and distance from Danby Lake, ends about 5-mi from the north side of the lake (ground infiltration).
See also Desert Center, California Valleys of Riverside County
References
External links Ford Lake (Ford Dry Lake), coordinates & elevation at topozone.com