The eastern Mojave Desert is a region of complex topography and geology, lying in the southern Great Basin geophysical province. This results in a landscape of rugged mountains, alluvial fans and bajadas, sand dunes, volcanic fields, pediment domes, drainage systems and playas. The DSC sits at 923' in elevation on the eastern edge of Soda Dry Lake, the terminal basin of the Mojave River, and at the base of the Soda Mountains. The Soda Mountains, with a peak elevation of 1249', are a mixture of Triassic metavolcanic rocks, Cretaceous granites, and Permian limestone that were uplifted during crustal extension typical of much of the Basin and Range Geophysical Province, creating the Soda Lake Basin. The alluvial fans of the Soda Mountains are well-developed and complex, with inter-braided and incised drainages. The more stable surfaces between drainages, some developing distinctive aeolian silt soil horizons, result in patches of relatively barren "desert pavement". The geomorphic evolution of these fans and their response to paleo-climatic change have been intensively studied.
