Kelso Dunes

Kelso Dunes comprise one of the larger dune fields of the California desert. They lie in the east-central Mojave Desert (lat. 34° 48' N., long. 115° 43' W.) roughly midway between the respective freeways to Las Vegas and Needles (Fig. 1) and are now easily accessible by well-graded and largely surfaced desert roads from both north (Baker) and south (east of Amboy). The dunes are part of a larger sand sea extending S. 80° E. from the sand-source area; a broad alluvial apron periodically flooded by the Mojave River where it debouches from Afton Canyon (Fig. 1).