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Photograph of Zzyzx
Photograph by Christopher Mann McKay, CC BY 2.5. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Soda Springs Historic District

Built in 1944. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. 9 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1933.

From the record

“Zzyzx, formerly Soda Springs, is an unincorporated area in San Bernardino County, California, United States, within the boundaries of the Mojave National Preserve, managed by the National Park Service (NPS), an agency of the U.S. It is the former site of the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa, and now the site of the Desert Studies Center and is centered around the former right of way of the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad.”

Wikipedia article Zzyzx, California, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 98 National Register listings published here for San Bernardino County · listed in 2022 · category: District · built in 1944.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • Address. 4.8 miles south of I 15, on Zzyzx Rd., Baker
  • When was it listed? November 2022
  • Category. district
  • Census division. Newberry Springs-Baker
  • When was it built? 1944
  • National Register reference number. 100004814 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Then and now

1933 to 1993

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 60 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Soda Springs Historic District, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet covering Soda Springs Historic District, surveyed 1933

Fires near this property

11 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Soda Springs Historic District between 1992 and 2017, burning about 4 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Equipment and vehicle use7
Debris and open burning1
Smoking1
Arson/incendiarism1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
22 September 2001Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictRASOR
6 July 1992Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictZZYZX
24 June 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictZZYZX
11 June 1998Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictZZYZX
10 June 1994Smokingunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictZZYZX
6 May 1996Arson/incendiarism2.2 acresMojave National PreserveSODA1-22
11 May 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictZZYZX
28 February 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictTORK

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino County

Mines and quarries near this property

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Soda Springs Historic District: 2 past producers, 2 prospects, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Bentonite, Gold, Sodium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Soda Lake ProspectSodiumOccurrenceBrine
Pink Lady Mine Soda Mtns.BentonitePast Producer1956
Pink Lady ProspectBentonitePast Producer
Soda LakeGoldProspect
Unnamed ProspectGoldProspect

Every working recorded in San Bernardino County

Storms near this property

31 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Baker, the town this property stands in, in 31 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 24 flash flood, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2023Flash FloodBaker$1,000,000Four feet of rushing water trapped people in their cars on Highway 127. The road was severely damaged.
September 2022Flash FloodBaker$50,000Zzyzx Rd was damaged, and Mojave Rd was impassable from Rasor Rd to Kelbaker Rd.
September 1999HailBaker$40,000Large hail fell over Interstate 15 near Baker. Numerous cars reportedly sustained dents and broken windshields.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindBaker$25,000Thunderstorm winds blew over a big rig and blew down power lines.
September 2024Flash FloodBaker$20,000Highway 127 was impassable due to being flooded with 1.5 feet of water plus rocks and debris. One car with four occupants was stuck and water was coming into the car.
September 2012Flash FloodBaker$20,000On Highway 127 north of Baker, one vehicle was stuck in flood waters up to the dashboard.
July 2022Flash FloodBaker$15,000Hwy 127 was flooded with lots of rocks and debris in the road, and one vehicle was stuck in the water.
July 2024Flash FloodBaker$10,000Highway 127 was flooded near mile marker 15. One car was stranded due to water getting into the ignition.
August 2023Flash FloodBaker$10,000Flash flooding in Baker was up to vehicle hoods.
August 2018Flash FloodBaker$10,000Highway 127 was flooded between Power Line Road and Riggs Road. The water nearly submerged an empty vehicle.
August 2016Flash FloodBaker$5,000A vehicle was stuck in water and debris on Highway 127 at mile marker 15.
July 2015Flash FloodBaker$5,000A car was stalled in floodwaters along Highway 127 15 miles NNW of Baker.
September 2014Flash FloodBaker$5,000Highway 127 was flooded and closed, with two cars stuck in the water.
August 2013Flash FloodBaker$5,000Highway 127 washed out just north of Powerline Road.
July 2012Flash FloodBaker$5,000Kelbaker Road was flooded with water and debris just south of Baker.
July 2022Flash FloodBaker$2,000Water and mud flowed over I-15.
October 2018Flash FloodBaker$2,000Highway 127 was flooded with water, mud, and debris.
August 2022Flash FloodBaker$1,000Highway 127 was flooded at Baker Blvd.
August 2022Flash FloodBaker$1,000Highway 127 was closed between mile markers 15 and 21.
July 2021Flash FloodBaker$1,000Highway 127 was flooded and impassable.
November 2019FloodBaker$1,000Standing water was on Highway 127 just north of the I-15 off ramp.
October 2018Flash FloodBaker$1,000Water flowed over Highway 127 15 miles N of Baker.
July 2017Flash FloodBaker$1,000Highway 127 was flooded at mile marker 12.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBaker-At Red Pass Lake mesonet station.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBaker-Also dust storm with visibility down to 50 feet.
July 2005Flash FloodBaker-State Highway 127 washed out, with cars stuck in water up to the doors.
October 2005Flash FloodBaker-State Highway 127 flooded at Dumont Dunes Rd.
July 2003Flash FloodBaker-CHP reported a car stuck in flash flooding on Highway 127 south of Baker. Occupants were safe.
July 2001Flash FloodBaker-Strong thunderstorms produced 1.54 inches of rain in a two hour period which caused several roads to flood.
August 1997Thunderstorm WindBaker-A weather spotter in Baker reported winds estimated at 55 to 60 mph from a nearby thunderstorm. No damage was reported.
September 2011HailBaker-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Bernardino County

Maps showing this location

9 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the middle of the area the National Park Service maps for this listing, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 100004814 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
San Bernardino CountyAll 98 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.