Against the current: The Mojave River from Sink to source The 2018 Desert Symposium Field Guide and Proceedings David M. Miller, editor April 2018 Against the current The Mojave River from sink to source David M. Miller, editor 2018 Desert Symposium Field Guide and Proceedings April 2018 Front cover: The Mojave River in flood near East Cronese Lake (playa), May, 1978. In the background, Cat Dune is visible as light-colored sand mantling the dark intrusive rocks. This flood channel is managed by a system of levees near the mouth of Afton Canyon to divert waters away from vulnerable railroad tracks. R. E. Reynolds photograph. Back cover: This view from near the dam that held back Lake Manix, northwestward across the former lake toward Alvord Mtn., shows the excavated flood route from failure of the dam, modern Afton Canyon. In the nearground is Miocene rock that is sheared in the Manix fault zone, and across the canyon is Pliocene alluvial fan gravel on Jurassic intrusive rocks. Upstream, the fan gravel continues, and in some places is overlain by a layer of gray gravel derived from the south as well as a thin cap of Lake Manix deposits. Enhanced vegetation in the canyon floor takes advantage of shallow water in the streambed. Gregor Losson photograph. Title page: Goat surveying flood damage on the Mojave River bed, downstream from Camp Cady. March 27, 2005. D. M. Miller photograph. Road Log maps prepared by Thomas Schweich. © 2018 Desert Symposium, Inc., a 501(c)3. Terms of Use: copies may be made for academic purposes only. The Desert Symposium is a gathering of scientists and lay people interested in the natural and cultural history of arid lands. The meeting comprises scientific presentations followed by a field trip. The Desert Symposium and its field trip take place annually, usually in April. The Desert Symposium publishes a volume of papers and a field trip road log. Safety, courtesy, desert awareness and self-reliance are expected of all participants. A color version of this volume and past volumes may be viewed at: http://www.desertsymposium.org/About.html 2 2018 desert symposium Table of contents Against the current—The Mojave River from sink to source: The 2018 Desert Symposium field trip road log 7 D.M. Miller, R.E. Reynolds, K. D. Groover, D.C. Buesch, H.J. Brown, G.A. Cromwell, J. Densmore, A.L. Garcia, D. Hughson, J.R. Knott, and J. Lovich Guide to an informal field trip to the southeast part of the Central Mojave Metamorphic Core Complex, April 24, 2018 35 Ernie Anderson and Nate Onderdonk, trip leade4rs Broken River — Mojave River 44 Walter Feller Fishing for fossils along the course of the Mojave River 48 Robert E. Reynolds Initiation and rate of slip on the Lockhart and Mt. General faults in southern Hinkley Valley, California 56 Elizabeth K. Haddon, David M. Miller, Victoria E. Langenheim, Tanzhuo Liu, Laura C. Walkup, Elmira Wan Middle Pleistocene infill of Hinkley Valley by Mojave River sediment and associated lake sediment: Depositional architecture and deformation by strike-slip faults 58 D.M. Miller, E.K. Haddon, V.E. Langenheim, A. J. Cyr, E. Wan, L.C. Walkup and S.W. Starratt Cajon Pass: a classic geologic textbook 66 Robert E. Reynolds and Michael O. Woodburne Fault structure and biogenic soil calcitenear Ivanpah Spring, Clark Mountain, San Bernardino County, California 71 David K. Lynch, Paul M. Adams, and David S. P. Dearborn Earthwatch expedition: wildlife of the Mongolian steppe 78 Hal Beesley Eastern Joshua tree (Yucca jaegeriana) growth rates and survivability on Cima Dome, Mojave National Preserve 84 James W. Cornett Rare ant populations in the headwaters of Mojave drainages: new records for Temnothorax paiute in the Clark and San Gabriel Mountains 88 James Des Lauriers and Mark Ikeda Recognition of a Glaucomys subspecies population isolated at the headwaters of the Mojave River 89 Tom Howe and Peggy Howe Review of Amphicyonidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the Barstow Formation of California 91 Donald Lofgren, Maya Fassler, and Stephanie Aldaz New records of Miomustela from the Barstow and Crowder formations of California 102 Donald Lofgren and Will Abersek A notable canid baculum from the Miocene Barstow formation, Mud Hills, California 106 Robert E. Reynolds Size variation in Cynarctus galushai (Canidae) dentition from the Barstow Fauna, Mud Hills, California 108 Robert E. Reynolds 2018 desert symposium 3 A small invertebrate fauna from the middle Miocene Monterey Formation, including a possible new species of bivalve, in southern Orange County, California 111 N. Scott Rugh A diverse freshwater molluscan fauna from the latest Pleistocene deposits from Salt Creek, Menifee, California 115 N. Scott Rugh and Mark A. Roeder A glance to the east: Lake Ivanpah— an isolated southern Great Basin paleolake 121 W. Geoffrey Spaulding and Douglas B. Sims An overview of stamp mills of the California Desert 132 Larry M. Vredenburgh and Charlie Cornell Geology of the Old Mojave Road and surrounding areas, San Bernardino County, California and Clark County, Nevada: a field guide 135 Gregg Wilkerson Abstracts from proceedings: the 2018 Desert Symposium 150 David M. Miller, compiler Early Miocene extension in the central Mojave; where do we go from here? 150 Ernie Anderson Mammal diversity and tectonic history of the Basin and Range 152 Catherine Badgley and Tara M. Smiley Silver production from the Silver King Vein, Calico, California: A forensic geology estimate 152 Joy Berry Incision and reoccupation of a Miocene paleovalley in the northern Marble Mountains, California 153 David C. Buesch ~3.7 Ma Black Mountains basalt flows geochemically correlated to boreholes in Superior Basin, western Fort Irwin, California 154 David C. Buesch Integrating geologic and geophysical data into a geologic framework model of two groundwater basins at Fort Irwin National Training Center in the Mojave Desert, California 154 Geoff Cromwell, Lyndsay Ball, David Buesch, David Miller, and Jill Densmore-Judy Biodiversity of amphibians and reptiles at the Camp Cady Wildlife Area, Mojave Desert, California and comparisons with other desert locations 154 Kristy L. Cummings, Shellie R. Puffer, Jeffrey E. Lovich, and Kathie Meyer-Wilkins Quaternary record of Mojave River discharge determined from detrital 10Be pebble exposure ages 155 Andrew J. Cyr and David M. Miller The Cerutti Mastodon site: evidence for hominins in southern California 130,000 years ago. 156 Thomas A Deméré and Steven R. Holen Evaluating groundwater discharge and water quality at springs, Fort Irwin National Training Center, San Bernardino County, California 156 Jill N. Densmore Trace element concentrations in alluvium of the Mojave River floodplain 156 Krishangi Groover and John Izbicki Modeling land-surface deformation with UAV photogrammetry in Bicycle and Red Pass Basins, Fort Irwin National Training Center, California 157 Elizabeth K. Haddon, Jill N. Densmore, Josip D. Adams, J. Luke Blair, and David M. Miller Fire frequency and C4 vegetation expansion in the Barstow Formation 157 Anna Harkness, Katharine Loughney, and Catherine Badgley Comparison of heteromyid rodents from the Sespe Formation of Orange County with Mojave Desert local faunas 158 Jared R. Heuck and James F. Parham Use of a summative scale for decision-making at a Cr(VI) contamination site 158 John A. Izbicki and Krishangi Groover 4 2018 desert symposium Motion camera surveillance for Mohave ground squirrel on mitigation parcels in the west Mojave Desert 159 Edward L. LaRue, Jr., M.S. High school student research at the Raymond Alf Museum of Paleontology: Filling the gap in alpha level paleontology for the Barstow Formation 159 Don Lofgren, Andrew Farke, and Gabe Santos Reconstructing environmental change in the Barstow Formation, Mojave Desert, California, through the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum 160 Katharine M. Loughney, Michael T. Hren, and Selena Y. Smith The southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) in the Mojave River of California: past, present and future 160 Jeffrey E. Lovich, Robert Fisher, Shellie R. Puffer, Kristy Cummings, Sarah Greely and Morgan Ford Geologic framework of groundwater basins of western Fort Irwin, California 160 D.M. Miller, D.C Buesch, V.E. Langenheim, L.B. Ball, P.A. Bedrosian, and G. Cromwell First report of fossil plants from the Box Springs Mountains, Riverside, CA 161 Jess Miller-Camp, Andy Sanders, Lido Delgadillo, and Jeremiah George How long can desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii, hide in their burrows from climate change? 162 Jenna L. Norris, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Rafael A. Lara ResÉndiz and Shellie R. Puffer Preliminary geologic map of the Mesquite Springs Fault Zone 162 G. Phelps Birds not in flight: using camera traps at desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) burrows to study avian behavior at a wind farm 163 Shellie R. Puffer, Laura A. Tennant, Mickey Agha, David Delaney, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Leo J. Fleckenstein, Jessica Briggs, Terence R. Arundel, Amanda L. Smith, Andrew Walde, Joshua R. Ennen Pleistocene lakes and paleohydrologic environments of the Tecopa Basin: constraints on the drainage integration of the Amargosa River 164 Marith Reheis, John Caskey, and Jordon Bright The Island of California: is there a scientific explanation for the 17th-century myth? 164 Jenny E. Ross Pre-development water-levels in the Centro area of the Mojave River groundwater basin 165 Whitney A. Seymour and John A. Izbicki Initial report of fossil wood from the Alverson formation, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California 165 Tom Spinks The Las Vegas Formation 166 Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Craig R. Manker, and Shannon A. Mahan Ecological diversity of mammalian faunas of the Mojave Desert and the Great Plains, in relation to landscape history 166 Bian Wang, Catherine Badgley 2018 desert symposium 5 6 2018 desert symposium Against the current— The Mojave River from sink to source: The 2018 Desert Symposium field trip road log D.M. Miller, R.E.