Anza-Borrego South: Yuha Basin

Photo of Yuha Basin in morning light taken at the rim looking north

The Yuha Basin is a prominent part of the Yuha Desert which is in Imperial County, south of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and north of the US-Mexican border. The Yuha Desert is Bureau of Land Management land.

The Yuha Basin is of interest for a number of reasons. The land was once under water, and visitors search for fossils. Visitors also come here for the rocks and minerals, and to see the Crucifixion Thorns nearby on Highway 98. The remains of Yuha Man, 3,000 years old, were discovered here. The presence of geoglyphs or intaglios in the area indicates that the area was possibly used for sacred purposes. It was on a Native-American trade route used by people from the moutains to the west and the Colorado River to the east. These people greeted Juan Bautista de Anza on his historic expeditions.

The rim around the basin is solid ground which can be driven on in two-wheel drive vehicles on dirt roads. But once there is a downhill drop in the road, the sand can quickly turn soft and should either be hiked or driven in a four-wheel drive vehicle.

The Yuha Basin lies south of Interstate-8 and north of Highway 98, east of Ocotillo and west of the New River.