East Mojave Desert Project 2004
Contexts for the Desert 15:
Utilities Desert
retired power pole, Goffs, CA; power pole in use on Rt. 66 in Rialto, CA; high tension lines near Mormon Rocks
microwave repeater at Cadiz Summit; burned-out, shot-up underground cable warning in the Blue Cut;
fiberoptic line warning (bullet and fireproof) in the Blue Cut
utility shack for decommissioned underground phone line built along the
Mojave Road for use after a nuke strike in the 1960s, now at Goffs, CA
This is another aspect of the desert which is nearly invisible. An army
of utility workers keep a number of systems working across the desert,
including: power lines, both local and high-tension, carrying electricity from
Hoover dam to Los Angeles; telephone lines, via
buried cables and microwave; internet connections; and canals
carrying water (the California Aqueduct crosses I-15 near Victorville).
You can learn about the California Water Project by visited their
museum at Vista Del Lago on I-5 near Pyramid Lake, north of
Six Flags Magic Mountain. You can of course tour Hoover
Dam and see the generators that convert water power to electricity.
[link-10]
The rest of the systems hum along with very little public attention.
Last update 12:58 PM Fri. 27-Feb-2004 by ABS.
© 2004 Alan B. Scrivener
