Quaternary stratigraphy, drainage-basin development, and geomorphology of the Lake Manix basin, Mojave Desert: Guidebook for fall field trip, Friends of the Pleistocene, Pacific Cell, October 4-7, 2007

The 2007 field trip of the Pacific Cell, Friends of the Pleistocene, visited features of the Quaternary geology and geomorphology of the Lake Manix basin in the Mojave Desert. This report is the guidebook for this trip and includes some discussion of relations observable along the road and at various field trip stops. The Mojave River originates in the San Bernardino Mountains and in high-water years flows north and east to its terminus in Silver Lake playa north of Baker, Calif. Along this course, the river passes through or near several basins that were internally drained prior to integration by the Mojave River, including the Victorville, Harper, Manix, and Soda Lake basins. Sediments in the Lake Manix basin record Mojave River discharge and lake fluctuations that began during the middle Pleistocene and continued through most of the late Pleistocene.