Mecca Hills (including Painted Canyon)

Lying to the north of the Salton Sea, these hills are noted for their unusual geological features as well as the beauty of their rock formations. Though located northeast of the San Andreas, the Mecca Hills are in the rift zone and are cut by several steeply dipping faults. The Hills were probably elevated by movement along these faults.

A number of formations are present including the light-colored Dos Palmas rhyolite outcrops; the Mecca formation with reddish to pinkish grey sandstones and clays and grey conglomerate of granitic and metamorphic debris; the Palm Springs formation with red, white and grey sandstones and clays; the grey Canebreak conglomerate, among others. These various formations have been tilted, upended, folded, and sheared by the fault movement. Erosion has cut into the weaker rock to form the picturesque badlands in which the complexly contorted formations are exposed.

Vegetation is sparse except in the washes where typical species include smoke tree, Psorothamnus spinosus, palo verde, Cercidium floridum, ironwood, Olneya tesota, mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana, catclaw, Acacia greggii, desert-willow, Chilopsis linearis, etc. On the hillsides creosote bush scrub occurs. Two rare plants have been reported in the area, Xylorhiza cognata and Salvia greatae. Though sparse, animal life here is representative of the Colorado Desert. Desert bighorn, Ovis canadensis, have been observed in the area.

Integrity: Several roads lead into the area and there is a picnic ground in the Park at Painted Canyon. Heavy off-road vehicle use has damaged some areas and there is evidence of vandalism and littering.

Use: Educational, research, observational, light recreation. The area is frequently visited on geology field trips.

Ref: Hays, W. H. 1975. The Geology of the Central Mecca Hills. Ph. D. Thesis. Yale University, unpub,

August 1975