Lake Mojave is an ancient former lake fed by the Mojave River that, through the Holocene, occupied the Silver Lake and Soda Lake basins in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California. Its outlet may have ultimately emptied into the Colorado River north of Blythe.GeographyLake Mojave existed in San Bernardino County. The city of Las Vegas lies 90mi northeast of Lake Mojave.On the western side, Lake Mojave was bordered by mountains that steeply rise from the basin. The eastern side is more gentle, featuring alluvial fans and pediment.The lakeAt its maximum stand, Lake Mojave had a surface area of and a volume of. Lake Mojave had two separate lake level stands, the A stand and the B stand. The A stand lies at an altitude of above sea level and the B stand at an altitude of. The lake was about deep.15 alluvial fans abut the shores of Lake Mojave that face the Soda Mountains. A present-day 25mi bay exists on the northwestern side of the Silver Lake basin and includes wavecut terraces and a beach ridge.Silver Lake and Soda Lake exist today where Lake Mojave formerly existed. Soda Lake slopes to the north and lies at a higher altitude than Silver Lake, thus water tends to fill Silver Lake first. Beach ridges and shorelines testify to the existence of a past lake in the Silver Lake basin. One major beach ridge complex is named the El Capitan Beach Ridge complex and contains gravel and sand.
