Thousand Palms Canyon Road

Thousand Palms Canyon Road is a four-mile highway which is located in Indio Hills of Riverside County. Thousand Palms Canyon Road is named after the Thousand Palms Oasis which is home to a grove of Californian Palms. Thousand Palms Canyon Road begins at the intersection of Washington Street/Ramon Road and ends at Dillon Road.

Part 1; the history of Thousand Palms Canyon Road

Thousand Palm Canyon Road lies in a fold in the Indio Hills which is filled with native Californian Palm Trees (Washingtonia filifera). The Californian Palm Trees of the Indio Hills grow in lands which water is pushed to the surface by the nearby San Andreas Fault. The Indio Hills are home to the Thousand Palm Oasis of the Coachella Preserve for which Thousand Palm Canyon Road is named.

Thousand Palms Canyon Road was constructed as a haul road to the Colorado River Aqueduct site north of the Indio Hills. The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona. Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.

The intersection of Thousand Palms Canyon Road and Dillon Road can be seen in a photo dated to 1934 (courtesy Carl Schulz). A sign can be seen directing traffic to Thousand Palms Camp. Thousand Palms Camp was developed during the 1930s by Paul Wilhelm. Wilhelm constructed the cabin which is now the headquarters of the Coachella Preserve.

Thousand Palms Canyon Road and the Thousand Palms Oasis can be seen on the 1944 United States Geological Survey Map of Edom.

The Coachella Preserve as it is known today was created during 1986 and is managed by the Centers for Natural Lands Management.

Part 2; a drive on Thousand Palms Canyons Road

Thousand Palms Canyon Road northbound begins via a right-hand turn from Washington Street.

As northbound Thousand Palms Canyon Road begins the Willis Palms Trail and grove can be seen.

Northbound Thousand Palms Canyon Road passes by the Coachella Valley Visitor Center.

Northbound Thousand Palms Canyon Road terminates at Dillon Road. Thousand Palms Canyon Road sometimes appears on older United States Geological Survey maps continuing north of Dillon Road to mining claims at Fan Hill near the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park.

Comments

Morgan Territory Road

Morgan Territory Road is an approximately 14.7-mile-long roadway mostly located in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California. The roadway is named after settler Jerimah Morgan who established a ranch in the Diablo Range in 1857. Morgan Territory Road was one of several facilities constructed during the Gold Rush era to serve the ranch holdings. The East Bay Regional Park District would acquire 930 acres of Morgan Territory in 1975 in an effort to establish a preserve east of Mount Diablo. The preserve has since been expanded to 5,324 acres. The preserve functionally stunts the development along roadway allowing it to remain surprisingly primitive in a major urban area. Part 1; the history of Morgan Territory Road During the period of early period of American Statehood much of the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County was sparsely developed. Jerimah Morgan acquired 2,000 acres of land east of Mount Diablo in 1856 and established a ranch in 1857. Morgan Territory Road is

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles. The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County. Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57. California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10. Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10. The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway. Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of

Old Sonoma Road

Old Sonoma Road is an approximately five-mile highway located in the Mayacamas Mountains of western Napa County. The roadway is part of the original stage road which connected Napa Valley west to Mission San Francisco Solano as part of El Camino Real. Much of Old Sonoma Road was bypassed by the start of the twentieth century by way of Sonoma Highway. A portion of Old Sonoma Road over the 1896 Carneros Creek Bridge (pictured as the blog cover) was adopted as part of Legislative Route Number 8 upon voter approval of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act. The 1896 Carneros Creek Bridge served as a segment of California State Route 37 and California State Route 12 from 1934 through 1954. Part 1; the history of Old Sonoma Road Old Sonoma Road has origins tied to the formation of Mission San Francisco Solano and the Spanish iteration of El Camino Real. Mission San Francisco Solano was founded as the last and most northern Spanish Mission of Alta California on July 4, 1823. The new M

Gribblenation

Search This Blog