Bonanza Spring

Bonanza Spring is the largest fresh water spring system in the Mojave Desert. The spring is within the boundaries of the Bonanza Springs Wildlife Area managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It is located in San Bernardino County approximately 50 miles due west from Needles, California, and a couple miles north of Route 66 near Essex, California.[1][2] It is not to be confused with Bonanza Springs in Lake County, California.

Bonanza Spring
Bonanza Springs
Coyote near Bonanza Spring
LocationMojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California
Coordinates34°40′32″N 115°23′53″W
Elevation2,105 feet
Typeaquifer fed freshwater spring
Magnitudefifth or sixth
Discharge10 gallons per minute

Description

Bonanza Spring is the largest spring in the Mojave Desert, it is located in the foothills of the Clipper Mountains. The spring is surrounded by vegetation including mesquite, cottonwood trees, and cattails.[3] The shallow water of the pool supports catfish and bluegills.[4]

A now abandoned Santa Fe Railroad stop called Danby (now a ghost town) refilled its water tanks from a pipeline from the spring for its steam engines.[4]

The spring waters stretch for a half mile and provide habitat for frogs and toads.[5] The Bonanza Spring wetlands are the largest within a 1,000 square mile area. The spring discharges approximately 10 gallons per minute and is rated as a fifth or sixth magnitude spring.[6]

Environmental issues

Pumping by the development company, Cadiz Water Project Inc. could potentially dry up the springs as the operation extracts approximately 16.3 billion gallons (50,000 acre feet) annually for 50 years.[7][2] The company maintains that the water pumping will not have an effect on the springs, however environmental groups differ with their findings.[5][8][9] Independent peer review of the environmental studies that have suggested a connection of Bonanza Spring with Cadiz pumping, however, have noted potentially serious flaws and inconsistencies in those studies.

Indigenous peoples living in the area along with leadership from the Native American Land Conservancy have reported that nearby springs in the area near Old Woman Mountains have dried up since the Cadiz company began agricultural pumping. The Victor Valley Daily News has reported that "the lives and cultures of desert peoples — the Chemehuevi, the Mojave, the Cahuilla, the Serrano, and many others — became inextricably intertwined with the survival of desert springs. Desert tribes have spoken up strongly in opposition to Cadiz, as has the Native American Land Conservancy, due to the threat Cadiz poses to our living cultures."[10] In 2020, the Three Valleys Municipal Water District voted to proceed with an indepth study of the possible environmental impacts of the Cadiz Water Project on the springs.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Bonanza Springs Watchable Wildlife Area". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  2. "Water project may endanger Bonanza Springs in Mojave Desert". Route 66 News. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  3. Wilson, Scott (3 March 2019). "Could a massive aquifer beneath the Mojave Desert solve California's water problem?". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  4. Hillinger, Charles (9 August 1966). "Catfish and Bluegills Flourish in the Mojave". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. Clarke, Chris (22 May 2017). "The Unique Mojave Desert Oasis at the Center of the Cadiz Controversy". KCET. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  6. "Fact sheet: Hydrology in the eastern Mojave and the Cadiz Groundwater Project" (PDF). Mojave Desert Land Trust. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  7. Zdon, Andy; Davisson, M. Lee; Love, Adam H. (2019). "Understanding the source of water for selected springs within Mojave Trails National Monument, California". Environmental Forensics. 19 (2): 99–111. doi:10.1080/15275922.2018.1448909. S2CID 104232002. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  8. Ceniceros, Randall (26 July 2018). "Protect the desert oasis Bonanza Spring". Highland Community News. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. James, Ian (14 April 2018). "'It would likely dry up.' Rare desert spring imperiled by company's plan to pump groundwater, researchers say". Desert Sun. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  10. Madrigal, Michael (4 June 2018). "Cadiz water project would put Bonanza Spring at risk". Victor Valley Daily Press. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  11. "Three Valleys Moving Forward with Study of Bonanza Spring in Eastern Mojave". California Water News Daily. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
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