Out in the volcanic cinder cones, a few miles east of Baker in the Mojave National Preserve, and hidden among fields of broken basalt and cinder, is the Mojave Lava Tube. Over the course of the last seven million years (during the Pleistocene and Pliocene epochs) and perhaps as recently as 10,000 years ago, basalt lava flowed in multiple eruptive events from cinder cones here.
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Cliffs of Crosses Petroglyphs
Most East Mojave rock art sites have a mix of abstract designs, the occasional bighorn sheep, maybe a few human figures. This canyon has those too, but what sets it apart is the number of enclosed crosses pecked into the basalt cliffs. I didn't name it, but whoever
Grass Canyon Petroglyphs
Native Americans passed through Grass Canyon thousands of years ago and left their marks on the basalt. I am not sure why they picked these rocks, though. There are plenty of other surfaces around that don't have anything on them. But this spot where a basalt butte meets
Pinyon Pine and Goldstar Mine Cabins
On the eastern slope of the rugged Old Woman Mountains are the remains of two weather-beaten cabins. Unlike the area's earlier gold and silver prospects, these mines targeted barite, a mineral primarily used in oil drilling. Barite (or Baryte) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate, generally white