bazaars, great shopping, and unparalleled recreation.
matic, and musical entertainment at the McCallum Theatre
and thrill to concerts, ballet, opera, symphony, and Broadway
productions at the Annenberg Theater. You'll be in awe at
the rare and endangered animals and desert flora offered at
the serene, 1,200-acre Living Desert in Indian Wells.
are two Palm Springs International Film Festivals (January
and August) and the Riverside County Fair and National
Date Festival held in February in Indio.
tennis (Masters Series Tournament) and golf (Bob Hope
Desert Classic, Nabisco Championship, and Palm Springs
Celebrity Golf Classic). For the avid golfer, the natural
beauty of the desert and the professionally created course
designs offer challenging and pleasurable golfing on more
than 100 of America's top golf courses.
one of the world's largest ro-
tating tramcars at the Aerial
Tramway in Palm Springs
could be the high point of a
visit to the Coachella Valley.
The ride provides a spectac-
ular 360-degree view of the
valley floor and surrounding
mountain area as it climbs
the steepest vertical cable
rise in the United States.
The 15-minute trip 8,516
feet up Mt. San Jacinto
displays the flora and fauna
that approximate the varieties of vegetation and animal life
that could be found on a trip from Mexico's warm Sonora
Desert to the alpine wilderness of Alaska.
Riverside County. Recreational opportunities along the cor-
ridor are abundant and include such activities as water sports
(water skiing, windsurfing, ski boarding, canoeing and river
rafting), camping, fishing, hiking, biking, rock climbing, back-
packing and off-roading.
with a view of mountains in every direction. At the heart of
the Colorado River Recreation Area, Needles is known as the
"Gateway City." The City of Blythe is located at the south-
ern end of the corridor along the Colorado River, at the junc-
gigantic human, animal, and geometric figures created cen-
turies ago by Indians living in the valley, are located 15 miles
north of Blythe.
solitude can be experienced in a wilderness area. The
Sonoran Desert is an arid region covering 120,000 square
miles in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California as
well as parts of Baja California and Sonora, Mexico.
higher Great Basin of Southern California is called the Mojave
Desert. Near the Great Basin-Mojave border is Death Valley
National Park, the lowest elevation in North America. Baker
is known for displaying the world's tallest thermometer (134
ft. tall), commemorating the hottest temperature recorded in
the US (134 degrees F.), in nearby Death Valley. Amboy, lo-
cated about 60 miles northeast of Twentynine Palms, is one
of California's oldest towns. Once a major stop along Route
66 before Interstate 40 opened, Amboy is famous for the
Amboy Crater, dating back 6,000 years.
acres that protect and preserve the outstanding natural, cul-
tural and scenic resources of this area. Nearly half of the re-
gion is wilderness where only foot and horse travel are
permitted.
through California wound their way through this region. At
the turn of the 20th century, the railroads laid their tracks,
and, later, famous Route 66 came through here. Today, the
High Desert's romantic past, natural beauty, crystal-clear air,
open spaces, and semi-rural lifestyle have transformed the
region into one of the fastest growing areas in the Southwest.