Lake Mojave
| Lake Mojave | |
|---|---|
| Location |
Mojave Desert San Bernardino County, California |
| Coordinates | 35°14′28″N 116°04′49″W / 35.24113°N 116.08017°WCoordinates: 35°14′28″N 116°04′49″W / 35.24113°N 116.08017°W |
| Lake type | Glacial lake (former) |
| Primary inflows | Mojave River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface elevation | 288 m (945 ft) |
| References | |
Lake Mojave is an ancient former lake fed by the Mojave River that, through the Holocene, occupied the Silver Lake and Soda Lake basins in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California. Its outlet may have ultimately emptied into the Colorado River north of Blythe.
Lake Mojave existed in San Bernardino County. The city of Las Vegas lies 90 miles (140 km) northeast of Lake Mojave.
On the western side, Lake Mojave was bordered by mountains that steeply rise from the basin. The eastern side is more gentle, featuring alluvial fans and pediment.
At its maximum stand, Lake Mojave had a surface area of 300 square kilometres (120 sq mi) and a volume of 7 cubic kilometres (1.7 cu mi). Lake Mojave had two separate lake level stands, the A stand and the B stand. The A stand lies at an altitude of 287 metres (942 ft) above sea level and the B stand at an altitude of 285.4 metres (936 ft). The lake was about 10 metres (33 ft) deep.
15 alluvial fans abut the shores of Lake Mojave that face the Soda Mountains. A present-day 25 miles (40 km) bay exists on the northwestern side of the Silver Lake basin and includes wavecut terraces and a beach ridge.
Silver Lake and Soda Lake exist today where Lake Mojave formerly existed. Soda Lake slopes to the north and lies at a higher altitude than Silver Lake, thus water tends to fill Silver Lake first.Beach ridges and shorelines testify to the existence of a past lake in the Silver Lake basin. One major beach ridge complex is named the El Capitan Beach Ridge complex and contains gravel and sand.
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