Category: Destination4x4

Callville, Nevada – Colorado River Steamship Landing

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Callville Nevada is a ghost town and Colorado River Steamboat port, which is now submerged below the waters of Lake Mead. Bishop Anson Call founded and established a colony and warehouse on the Colorado River at the direction of the Mormon Leader Brigham Young. The settlement was located about 15 miles up river from the location of the future site of Hoover Damn.

Call's Landing or Callville looking toward the west as it appeared in 1926 - Photo courtesy of R. F. Perkins
Call’s Landing or Callville looking toward the west as it appeared in 1926 – Photo courtesy of R. F. Perkins
Bishop Anson Call, Mormon Colonizer, May 13, 1810 – August 31, 1890
Bishop Anson Call, Mormon Colonizer, May 13, 1810 – August 31, 1890

Callville was established on December 2, 1864 when Anson Call arrived on a small bluff over looking the Colorado River in the Arizona Territory. The settlement was located at the conjunction of the later named Callville wash and the Colorado River.

The founding of the settlement was the churches effort to expand trade routes and European immigration into Utah from the south. The small portgage and landing site was one of several along the Colorado including St. Thomas, Saint Joseph, Overton, West Point, Mill Point ( Simonsville ) and Rioville.

During the Civil War, the army of the United States garrisoned at the site, to protect the Colorado River Steamboats and serve as a landing point for army. In December 1865, the outpost had the honor to become the county seat for Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory. The station was short lived and transferred to St Thomas just two years later.

In 1869, the army garrison was removed. Following the war, Congress redrew some of the state boundaries and the settlement in the Arizona Territory is moved to Nevada. From 1866 to 1878, the landing at Callville was the High Water of Navigation for steamboat traffic on the Colorado River, which is 408 miles from Fort Yuma. The town was abandoned in June 1869 when the Steamships discontinued service to the site.

Today, the town lies in under 400 feet of water. However, the water levels in Lake Mead are at an all time low, and St. Thomas is currently above water.

“Take a suitable company, locate a road to the Colorado, explore the river, find a suitable place for a warehouse, build it, and form a settlement at or near the landing.” 

Brigham Young instructing Anson Call, 1864

Town Summary

LocationCallville
LocationLake Mead, Clark County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude36.1133128, -114.6888720
GNIS863773
Other Common NamesCall’s Fort, Old Callville

Callville Map

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Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatium)

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A member of the mustard family, the Western Wallflower ( Erysimum capitatium ) is a brightly colored yellow flower which is quite common across the western United States, including Arizona, Utah and Nevada.. In European countries, the wallflower earned its name from a habit of growing on… you guess it, walls. More specifically stone, masonry or wooden fences. The name was transposed to the American species despite the fact the plants have no preference for walls.

Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatium)
Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatium)

Scientific Taxonomy and Categorization

  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Clades: Tracheophytes, Angiosperms, Eudicots, Rosids
  • Order: Brassicales
  • Family: Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family)
  • Genus: Erysimum
  • Species: Erysimum capitatum (Douglas ex Hook.) Greene (binomial name)

The species belongs to the tribe Erysimeae within Brassicaceae. It is a dicot angiosperm (eudicot) herb. Flora of North America recognizes two main varieties: E. c. var. capitatum (often called western or sanddune wallflower) and E. c. var. purshii (Pursh’s wallflower). Numerous synonyms exist due to high morphological variability and past taxonomic confusion with E. asperum (prairie rocket). Chromosome number is 2n = 36. The plant is categorized as a biennial or short-lived perennial herb (sometimes behaving as a winter annual in southern deserts), with a taproot and variable growth form depending on elevation and habitat.

Detailed Plant Description

Erysimum capitatum is a highly variable, taprooted herb that produces one to several erect, leafy stems (0.5–12 dm / 1.5–12 ft tall) arising from a basal rosette. Stems are often branched distally, coarse, and covered in stiff, appressed, forked or branched (malpighiaceous/dolabriform) hairs. The plant leaks a pungent, watery juice when damaged.

Basal leaves are simple, alternate, spatulate to narrowly oblanceolate or linear (2–27 cm long × 3–30 mm wide), with prominent midribs and margins ranging from entire to dentate or denticulate. Stem leaves are smaller, sessile, and angled upward. Leaves are typically deep green and hairy (rayed hairs vary by variety: mostly 3–7-rayed in var. capitatum; 2–3-rayed in var. purshii). Plants develop short to elongate caudices clothed in old leaf bases.

Growth habit and life cycle show plasticity: low-elevation plants are often taller, less branched biennials and more drought-resistant; high-elevation (alpine) plants are dwarf, multi-stemmed perennials. The species is early-seral, thriving in disturbed sites, and exhibits semelparity (single reproductive event) in dry lowlands versus iteroparity (multiple events) in moist high-elevation habitats.

Detailed Flower Description

Flowers are perfect, arranged in congested terminal racemes that elongate in fruit. Each flower is 2.5–3.8 cm wide with four distinct, rounded petals arranged in a cross shape (typical of Brassicaceae). Petals are usually bright yellow to orange (occasionally lavender, maroon, red, white, or purple in certain populations or high elevations); var. capitatum tends toward orange-yellow, var. purshii toward yellow. Flowers have four sepals, six stamens (tetradynamous: four long, two short), a stout style (up to 3 mm), and a superior ovary. They are fragrant and bloom primarily April–August (as early as January in southern ranges or to September).

Fruits are linear, narrow siliques (3.5–15 cm long × 1.3–3.3 mm wide), upright or nearly parallel to the stem, four-sided or slightly flattened, with prominent midveins. Each valve contains 40–80 seeds; siliques dehisce at maturity. Seeds are small, oblong (~1.5 mm), lightweight, and winged in var. capitatum. Pollination is required for full seed set; visitors include bees, flies, butterflies, and beetles.

Habitat

The western wallflower occupies diverse dry, open sites from valley bottoms to alpine summits. It prefers well-drained, sandy, gravelly, or rocky soils with low organic matter and fertility. Substrates include sandstone, granite, basalt, limestone, serpentine, dunes, and talus. It occurs in desert grasslands/shrublands, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands, aspen groves, montane meadows, forest openings, sagebrush flats, and alpine tundra. Elevation range is sea level to 13,120 ft (4,000 m), with var. capitatum generally lower (0–5,600 ft) and var. purshii higher (3,280–13,120 ft). It tolerates full sun, drought, and disturbance (roadsides, burns, grazed areas).

Range and Distribution

Erysimum capitatum is one of the most widespread native North American wallflowers. Its range spans western North America from Alaska and Yukon Territory south through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and into northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora, etc.). It extends eastward across the Great Plains to the Great Lakes region (Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, etc.) with scattered disjunct populations as far as Ohio and Tennessee. Var. capitatum has the broadest distribution; some California varieties (e.g., var. angustatum) are narrowly endemic and endangered. It has been introduced in parts of New England. Overall, it is considered secure (NatureServe).

This adaptable species plays ecological roles as a nectar source for pollinators (including butterflies), larval host plant, and early colonizer of disturbed or post-fire sites. It also provides forage for wildlife such as elk, deer, bighorn sheep, and small mammals.

Other Names

  • Coast wallflower
  • Douglas’ wallflower
  • Sanddune wallflower
  • Prairie rocket

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Notch-leaved phacelia ( phacelia crenulata )

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Notch-leaved phacelia ( phacelia crenulata ) is a lovely little purple wild flower which grows across the desert southwest from California to Texas. The plant is typically between three to twenty-four inches in height. The flower is also known by several different names including, notch-leaf scorpion-weed, notch-leaved phacelia, cleftleaf wildheliotrope, and heliotrope phacelia.

Notch-leaved phacelia
Notch-leaved phacelia

The Purple Notchleaf Phacelia, scientifically known as Phacelia crenulata (also called Notch-leaf Phacelia, Notch-leaf Scorpion-weed, or Cleftleaf Wild Heliotrope), is one of the most iconic annual wildflowers of the Mojave Desert. In Death Valley National Park—the hottest and driest place in North America—this species transforms barren landscapes into vibrant purple carpets during years with sufficient winter rainfall. It is especially prominent in “superbloom” events, where it blooms alongside bright-yellow Desert Gold (Geraea canescens) to create striking color contrasts on alluvial fans and valley floors.

As of March 2026, Death Valley is experiencing one of the best superbloom displays in a decade, with P. crenulata contributing heavily to the purple displays visible from areas like Badwater Road and Furnace Creek.

Taxonomy

  • Scientific Name: Phacelia crenulata Torr. ex S. Watson
  • Family: Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf family; sometimes placed in Boraginaceae)
  • Order: Boraginales
  • Higher Classification: Angiosperms (flowering plants), Eudicots, Asterids

The species includes several varieties that intergrade:

  • var. ambigua (rangewide, larger purple flowers)
  • var. crenulata (California to Utah)
  • var. minutiflora (smaller flowers, sometimes lavender-blue with white throats).

Morphological Description

Phacelia crenulata is an aromatic annual herb, typically 7–60 cm tall (up to 80 cm or ~30 inches in favorable conditions), with erect stems that are sparsely to densely covered in stiff, glandular hairs.

Leaves: Oblong, 2–12 cm long, with wavy, lobed, or distinctly notched/scalloped (crenulate) margins—giving the plant its common name “Notchleaf.” The basal leaves are largest; upper leaves become smaller and more reduced.

Flowers: Arranged in coiled cymes (scorpioid inflorescences) that uncoil as they bloom, resembling a scorpion’s tail. Individual flowers are bell-shaped, ½–1 cm long, with deep violet-to-purple petals (sometimes blue) and a white or pale throat. Stamens and style protrude prominently from the corolla.

Fruit: A small, rounded capsule containing several seeds.

The entire plant is glandular-hairy and emits a distinctive (sometimes unpleasant) scent.

Habitat and Distribution

Phacelia crenulata is native to arid regions of the southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Utah) and northern Mexico. It has a rare antitropical (disjunct) distribution, also occurring in parts of South America (southern Peru, western Bolivia, northern Chile).

In Death Valley National Park, it prefers open, sandy, gravelly, or rocky soils on alluvial fans, foothills, and low-elevation desert washes. It commonly appears from mid-February to mid-April at lower elevations (below ~1,000 m), often in disturbed areas or alongside other desert annuals.

Ecology, Life Cycle, and Adaptations

As a desert annual, P. crenulata is an “ephemeral” species whose life cycle is tightly linked to winter precipitation. Seeds lie dormant in the soil for years and germinate rapidly after adequate rain, allowing the plant to grow, flower, set seed, and die before the extreme summer heat and drought return.

Key adaptations:

  • Glandular hairs that may reduce water loss and deter herbivores.
  • Coiled inflorescences that protect developing flowers.
  • Rapid phenology synchronized with brief windows of moisture.

It is highly valuable to native bees as a pollen and nectar source.

Note on human interaction: Like many phacelias, the plant can cause contact dermatitis (skin rash similar to poison oak) in sensitive individuals due to its glandular secretions. Avoid handling if you have sensitive skin.

Conservation Status

Phacelia crenulata is considered “Secure” by NatureServe and faces no major conservation threats. In Death Valley, it benefits from the park’s protection but remains sensitive to off-road vehicle traffic, climate-driven changes in rainfall patterns, and invasive species competition. It is a flagship species for public appreciation of desert biodiversity during superbloom events.

Summary

The Purple Notchleaf Phacelia exemplifies the resilience and beauty of Mojave Desert flora. Its vivid purple blooms, triggered by rare wet winters, turn Death Valley’s harsh landscape into a temporary floral paradise—reminding observers of the delicate balance of water, temperature, and life in one of Earth’s most extreme environments.

Key Viewing Tips for Death Valley (March–April 2026): Look along low-elevation roads and washes near Furnace Creek, Badwater, and the East Entrance for the best displays of purple P. crenulata mixed with yellow desert gold.

This report is based on botanical records from the National Park Service, botanical databases, and field observations during active bloom periods.

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Saguaro ( Carnegiea gigantea )

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The Saguaro ( Carnegiea gigantea ) is perhaps one of the most iconic member of the cacti family in the south west desert, and located primarily in Arizona. The giant desert guardian stands watch over the hot dry desert and exudes a quiet nobility which matches its environment perfectly. The slow growing giants can reach heights exceeding 35 feet in height. These pinnacles of stature are due in no doubt to their long life span of up to 200 years. The largest known Individual was measured at 78 feet tall before it was toppled in 1986 from high winds.

A monster Saguaro ( Carnegiea gigantea) - Photo by Sister Cecilia Joseph Wight
A monster Saguaro ( Carnegiea gigantea) – Photo by Sister Cecilia Joseph Wight

Like many other stem succulents, the Saguaro survives the dry climates by optimizing its water retention. Large tap roots anchor the plant to the ground and can harvest water from over 100 feet beneath the surface. The water is pulled into the cactus body and causes the the body to swell which enables the plant to survive long period of drought without water.

A single trunk of the saguaro is known as a spear, and the cacti can stay this way up to 75 years before the first arm is branched from the trunk. The cactus will bloom in the spring months of April, May and June. The white flowers of this plant will form only at the top of each branch and form a crown of beauty. The flowers open in the cooler nights after the sun was dropped below the horizon. Nectar is produced is encourage pollination from a variety of animals. The flower will close again by midafternoon. The flower is the state flower for the State of Arizona.

Saguaro Cacti break the evening skyline near Tucson Arizona - Photo by Sister Cecilia Joseph Wight
Saguaro Cacti break the evening skyline near Tucson Arizona – Photo by Sister Cecilia Joseph Wight

This cactus is protected by the State of Arizona, and sadly needs to be. The US Government created Saguaro National Park in 1994 to protect some of the population and its habitat.

Natural Distribution

Natural distribution map for Carnegiea gigantea - Elbert L. Little, Jr., of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and others
Natural distribution map for Carnegiea gigantea – Elbert L. Little, Jr., of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and others

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Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)

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One of  the more unique and quite frankly cool animals found in the Mojave Desert is the Desert Tortoise ( Gopherus agassizii ).  My family has a connection with this nomad of the dessert in that during the spring of 1942, my grand parents inherited three desert tortoises when they purchased and moved into a house in Ontario, CA.

Hands Off
Hands Off

My grandmother quickly named and adopted her new pets.  She and my grandfather struck up a deal with a local grocery store to donate lettuce and other vegetables to my grandmother to care for the tortoises.  By the time I was born, the three tortoises became a populations of about 20 animals.  Some of my earliest memories was to help her wake up the “turtles” from their hibernation, during which she stored the animals in a  large box along with a bunch of news paper clippings to help insulate them a little bit from the California winters.

Over the years, those three tortoises expanded their family and ours into a breeding population of over 70 animals.   Eventually, we donated the captive born tortoises to several zoo’s, shelters, and rescue to care for the animals.  All in all, my family raised and cared for desert tortoises for about 60 years, the ownership of which was legal because family documentation and the fact that all of the animals were born in captivity.

California Desert Tortoise emerging from a hiding place...
California Desert Tortoise emerging from a hiding place…

Oddly enough, despite my best efforts I did not a desert tortoise in the wild until the late 1990s when I ran into the one emerging from a den during one of the Toyota Four Runner Jamborees which was located out of Stoddard Wells Road.  Surrounded by others, most of whom I did not know, I quietly photograph the tortoise and pointed him out to my brother and two friends.  I chose not to point him out for fear of someone in the group would take it after we left.

Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in its burrow
Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in its burrow

Since this initial sighting, I have found four more in the wild.  One sighting occurred while driving the old Mojave Road with my father.  The animal was just walking down the trail.  We stopped and waited about 45 minutes for the animal to clear the road.  The other animal were spotted while driving at speed along various highways in the Mojave.  One animal I found walking down the middle of the road and had I not stopped and moved the animal off the road, it surely would not have survived long.

A juvenile desert tortoise lost its battle for life in the harsh desert environment. Photo by James L Rathbun
A juvenile desert tortoise lost its battle for life in the harsh desert environment. Photo by James L Rathbun

When born, the tortoises shell is thin and fragile which makes it an easy food source for Ravens, Gila monsters, kit foxes, roadrunners, coyotes, and fire ants.  Only about 2% are expected to reach maturity and the population in the Mojave is listed as threatened.  Should you be lucky enough to see one in the wild, take your time. Enjoy the moment. Snap a photograph and then leave the tortoise along.  I can tell you the exact spot of each of the five sightings I have had the good fortune to have experienced.  Each sighting of this timeless desert nomad is unique, and should be protected.

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