The Morongo Basin is located centrally in the southern portion

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

 of the state of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The Morongo basin is part of the Inland Empire

Inland Empire (California)

The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...

 metropolitan statistical area, the 13th largest in the United States

Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas

thumb|An enlargeable map of the 942 [[Core Based Statistical Area]]s of the [[United States]]. The 367 [[Metropolitan Statistical Area]]s are shown in red....

. Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is located in southeastern California. Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act , it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936. It is named for the Joshua tree forests native to the park...

 lies within the basin. The basin stretches approximately from Interstate 10

Interstate 10

Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...

 in the south to the Interstate 40

Interstate 40

Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...

 in the north. Lying within the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

, the Morongo Basin is directly east of the city of San Bernardino, California

San Bernardino, California

San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...

.

Geography

The Morongo Basin is located in the High Desert

High Desert (California)

The High Desert is an unofficial and vaguely-defined geographic area of southern California located to the northeast of the San Gabriel Mountains. The term "High Desert" is used most commonly by the news media, especially in weather forecasts, and in the names of businesses and organizations...

 region of Southern California. The area's elevation can range from 1950 feet (594.4 m) in Twentynine Palms

Twentynine Palms, California

Twentynine Palms is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It was previously called Twenty-Nine Palms...

, to 3000 feet (914.4 m) in Yucca Valley

Yucca Valley, California

Yucca Valley is an incorporated town located in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 20,700 at the 2010 census, up from 16,865 at the 2000 census...

. The terrain in the area is hilly, desert-type land. The Yucca

Yucca

Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...

 plant (which Yucca Valley is named for) and the Joshua Tree

Joshua tree

Yucca brevifolia is a plant species belonging to the genus Yucca. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, Yucca palm, Tree yucca, and Palm tree yucca....

 (which Joshua Tree, California is named after) are the most dominant plants in the region. The basin is also home to jackrabbits and coyote

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

s.

Over 15,000

• Yucca Valley
  Yucca Valley, California
  Yucca Valley is an incorporated town located in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 20,700 at the 2010 census, up from 16,865 at the 2000 census...
  
  
• Twentynine Palms
  Twentynine Palms, California
  Twentynine Palms is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It was previously called Twenty-Nine Palms...
  
  

Under 15,000

• Morongo Valley
  Morongo Valley, California
  Morongo Valley is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 3,552 at the 2010 census, up from 1,929 at the 2000 census.-Geography and climate:...
  
  
• Landers
  Landers, California
  Landers is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California. The town lies in the Homestead Valley of the Mojave Desert, northeast of Flamingo Heights. The closest large towns are Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree. The town has its own small airport, Landers Airport.Near Landers is Giant...
  
  
• Pioneertown
  Pioneertown, California
  Pioneertown, California is an unincorporated village in the Morongo Basin region of Southern California's Inland Empire Metropolitan Area. It is located approximately 56 miles east of San Bernardino.-History:...
  
  
• Joshua Tree
  Joshua Tree, California
  Joshua Tree is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2010 census, up from 4,207 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Joshua Tree is located in the Mojave Desert at ....
  
  
• Twentynine Palms
  Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
  The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center , also known as 29 Palms, is a United States Marine Corps base. It was a census-designated place officially known as Twentynine Palms Base located adjacent to the city of Twentynine Palms in southern San Bernardino County, California. As of the 2000...
  
  
• Wonder Valley

Climate

The climate is arid desert. Hot, dry summers; cool winters with cold mornings and occasional snow and rain showers. Snow falls in areas above 1500 feet (457.2 m) in elevation.

Twenty Nine Palms: Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °F	64	69	75	83	91	101	106	104	97	86	72	54
Avg low °F	36	39	43	49	57	65	71	80	64	52	41	35

Local attractions

Joshua Tree National Park attracts most of the tourism to the Morongo Basin. The Desert Christ Park

Desert Christ Park

Desert Christ Park is a sculpture garden in Yucca Valley, California. The park was sculpted and created by Antone Martin, a former aircraft worker who died in 1961 at the age of 74. Martin started sculpting the figures during the height of the Cold War atomic bomb scare of the mid-1940s, hoping...

 sculpture garden is located in Yucca Valley and attracts visitors from all over the nation.

Education

The Morongo Basin is home to the Morongo Unified School District

Morongo Unified School District

The Morongo Unified School District is a public education governing body in the Mojave high desert of Southern California. MUSD has more than 1,100 employees who provide educational services to 9,301 students.-Summary:...

, which serves all of the cities and communities in the area. Copper Mountain College

Copper Mountain College

Copper Mountain College is a community college located in Joshua Tree, California, USA. It was accredited in 2001 as the 108th such institution in the state.CMC is an offshoot of the College of the Desert...

is the only community college serving the Morongo Basin area, located in Joshua Tree.