High Desert (California)


The High Desert is a vernacular region with non-discrete boundaries covering areas of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. The region encompasses various terrain with elevations generally between above sea level, and is located just north of the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Bernardino Mountains">San Bernardino Mountains">San Bernardino Mountains.
The term "High Desert" is commonly used by local news media, especially in weather forecasts, because of the high desert's unique and moderate weather patterns compared to its low desert neighbors. The term "High Desert" serves to differentiate it from southern California's Low Desert, which is defined by the differences in elevation, climate, animal life, and vegetation native to these regions. For instance, Palm Springs, at above sea level, is considered "Low Desert"; in contrast, Landers at above sea level, is considered "High Desert".
The High Desert, along with the "Mojave River Valley" and the Victor Valley, is mostly used to describe the area centered around Victorville. The region extends as far west as Lancaster, as far southwest as Palmdale, and north to the Barstow desert. "High Desert" has also been incorporated into the names of businesses and organizations in these areas. The term "High Desert" is also erroneously used to refer to the communities north and west of Joshua Tree National Park—Twentynine Palms and the Morongo Basin, which are actually in an area called the Hi-Desert. These communities are at a higher elevation than the Low Desert that encompasses the Coachella Valley and Imperial Valley in far southern California.
The area was even proposed to become a new county due to cultural, economic and geographic differences relative to the rest of the more urban region.

Geography

Depending on how the boundaries of the Mojave and the Colorado Desert region are defined, the High Desert either includes the entire California portion of the Mojave Desert or the northern portion of the California desert.
The name of the region comes from its higher elevations and more northern latitude with associated climate and plant communities distinct from the Low Desert, which includes the Colorado Desert and the below-sea-level Salton Sea. The High Desert is typically windier than the Low Desert, and it averages 12 to 20 °F cooler in both the winter and summer seasons.

Regions

The High Desert is often divided into the following regions, moving west to east:
San Bernardino County's portion of the High Desert region contains the most land mass of the four involved counties, making up approximately 70% of the total county's area.
Other parts of the greater physical region known as the "High Desert" include:

Cities and communities

The major metropolitan centers in the region are primarily centered on the cities of Lancaster and Victorville. Lancaster, the largest city in the High Desert, is located in the Antelope Valley next to Palmdale and anchors the area's Los Angeles County region with a metro area population of just over 500,000. The Victor Valley area, which includes cities and communities such as Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto, Apple Valley, and Lucerne Valley, boasts a population around 385,000. The Barstow area, to the northeast of the Victor Valley, and the Morongo Basin near Joshua Tree National Park both have populations of around 60,000.

List of cities, towns, and census-designated places

Major highways

In the arts

Literature

  • Louis L'Amour's Western novel The Lonesome Gods uses features of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts in its narrative.
  • James Spooner's 2022 graphic memoir The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere. depicts the author's experiences as a Black teenager in the punk rock scene of Apple Valley.

Motion pictures

;Popular filming sites
;Exemplary projects
;Films using High Desert as a subject of the narrative