The Maturango Museum
Near Ridgecrest, California
If you want to understand the northern Mojave Desert, this small museum on East Las Flores Avenue is where to start. The Maturango Museum was founded in nineteen sixty-two, first to tell the story of Ridgecrest and neighboring China Lake, and it has grown into a keeper of the whole region's natural and cultural history. Inside you will find the desert laid open.
Exhibits on the plants and animals that survive out here, cases of rocks and minerals from one of the most mineral rich corners of the planet, Native American artifacts, and regional art. The museum also serves as an archaeological repository, holding and caring for finds from across the surrounding land. But the museum is best known for something you cannot see inside its walls.
For years it has been the official gateway to the Coso rock art, organizing the guided tours that carry visitors onto the restricted naval range to stand before those ancient carvings. Because that access depends on the whims of base security, the tours are sometimes suspended, so anyone hoping to go should always call ahead and confirm before making the drive.
