Location: San Bernardino County, California
Named for the southern Gambel’s or Desert) Quail, a small game bird found in desert thickets and the lower slopes of this peak (although there are also a lot more Mountain Quail (Oreortyx pictus) in the upper canyons. Gambel’s Quail (Lophortyx gambelii) is a related species that resembles the Valley or California Quail (Lophortyx californicus) , which is our official State Bird. Both have a distinctive teardrop shaped head plume, but the Desert Quail has a bit more chestnut, while the California Quail has a more grayish brown color on the crown and flanks. Both feed on leaves, twigs, shoots, buds, seeds, grain and wild fruit. The Desert Quail was over-hunted to near extinction in the late Nineteenth Century.
Nearby Quail Springs, which was named at about this time, may have been a favored campsite for hunters.
Cheryl Erickson, Librarian of Twentynine Palms, states that the name of the mountain was adapted from Quail Springs which is at elevation 4100.
A mine and canyon to the northeast were named for prospector Johnny Lang (d 1925).
USGS bench mark on summit reads “Jo”, and the surveyor’s notes are first known record of this name (1953).
Name first appears on USGS Twentynine Palms quad (1955).
Peak was added to the HPS Peak List in 1958.
Sign up to post your trip reports, photos and comments, and to receive occasional updates about news and events
