Rainbow Basin
Geological formation in the Calico Peaks range, Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County, California / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rainbow Basin is a geological formation in the Calico Peaks range, located approximately 8 miles (13 km) north of Barstow in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California.
Rainbow Basin Natural Area | |
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Location | San Bernardino County, California |
Nearest city | Barstow |
Coordinates | 35°01′46″N 117°02′12″W |
Area | 1,961 acres (794 ha) |
Designated | 1966 |
The Rainbow Basin has been designated a National Natural Landmark and is in the Bureau of Land Management managed Rainbow Basin Natural Area. Rainbow Basin is a mixture of private and public land, but it is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It is accessible to the public via Irwin Road from Barstow to an unpaved loop road through the colorful basin.
The basin is notable for: the fantastic and beautiful shapes of its rock formations: its fossil beds, which have provided scientists with valuable information about life during the middle Miocene epoch, between 12 and 16 million years ago; and to the northeast the Calico Early Man Site.