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Earth Notes: Mojave Trail

A monument on the Mojave Trail in the Mojave National Preserve.
Carrie Cannon
A monument on the Mojave Trail in the Mojave National Preserve.

The Mojave Trail, also known today as the Mojave Road, winds through the rugged terrain of the Mojave Desert. Originally used by Indigenous tribes for trade and travel, the trail later became a critical route for Spanish missionaries, American settlers and military expeditions.

The original trail began along the Colorado River at the border of Arizona and California and ended at the Pacific. Mojave tribal peoples used it to trade desert goods for coastal items. Today, it stands as a popular off-road adventure.

The most intact and well-documented section stretches nearly 150 miles from the Colorado River near present-day Needles, California, to the edge of the Mojave River near Barstow, passing through the Mojave National Preserve. It traverses a landscape rich in natural and cultural history.

Travelers encounter significant landmarks, such as the towering Joshua tree forests, lava tubes, and ancient American Indian petroglyphs etched into rock faces. The trail also passes by Fort Piute and Camp Cady, remnants of military outposts established to protect settlers from conflict during westward expansion.

Exploring the Mojave Trail is not for the faint-hearted. The route demands preparation, as it traverses isolated areas with limited access to water or fuel. But it offers a unique opportunity to experience the desert's serenity and vivid extremes, from scorching days to freezing nights. It’s a journey through time, capturing the enduring spirit of those who once crossed this harsh yet mesmerizing terrain.

This Earth Note was written by Carrie Calisay Cannon and produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University.

Carrie Calisay Cannon is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, and also of Oglala Lakota and German ancestry. She has a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and an M.S. in Resource Management. If you wish to connect with Carrie you will need a fast horse; by weekday she fills her days as a full-time Ethnobotanist with the Hualapai Indian Tribe of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, by weekend she is a lapidary and silversmith artist who enjoys chasing the beautiful as she creates Native southwestern turquoise jewelry.
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