Geography
The Fish Creek Mountains resemble a plateau rising as a great wall above the desert basin. From a distance, few dramatic peaks are visible. However, on closer examination, a rugged land of jagged ridges and peaks appears above twisting canyons and small valleys, creating a pristine natural environment. The steep mountain slopes contain limestone outcrops that have resisted erosion. As a result, water from cloudbursts has created narrow chutes swirling with water. Shielded from the sun's evaporating rays, water at the base of these chutes remains year-round serving wildlife as natural tanks. A portion of the ancient Lake Cahuilla shoreline is visible within this wilderness. The lake was a great body of freshwater once covering the Imperial and Coachella Valleys, receding 500 years ago.
Read more about this topic: Fish Creek Mountains Wilderness
Famous quotes containing the word geography:
“Ktaadn, near which we were to pass the next day, is said to mean “Highest Land.” So much geography is there in their names.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The California fever is not likely to take us off.... There is neither romance nor glory in digging for gold after the manner of the pictures in the geography of diamond washing in Brazil.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“At present cats have more purchasing power and influence than the poor of this planet. Accidents of geography and colonial history should no longer determine who gets the fish.”
—Derek Wall (b. 1965)