Health Spa Break
Health Spa Break
Zzyzx, California (pronounced /ˈzaɪzɨks/ ) is a settlement in San Bernardino County, California, formerly the site of the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa and now the site of the Desert Studies Center. The area is also the location of Lake Tuendae, one of the refuge habitats of the endangered Mohave tui chub.
Zzyzx Road is a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) long, part paved and part dirt, rural collector road in the Mojave Desert. It runs from Interstate 15 generally south to the Zzyzx settlement.
The settlement is in area code 760 and ZIP code 92309. The nearest town is Baker, California, 7 miles (11 km) north on I-15. Las Vegas, Nevada is the nearest major city, about 100 miles (160 km) northeast.
History
Soda Springs, a natural spring, has long seen human activity. The area was a prehistoric quarry site, and projectile points and rock art can be found in the area. The Mojave Road ran past the spring, as did the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. Remnants of a wagon road stop and railroad artifacts are readily seen. Evaporative salt mining and mill sites can be found here as well.
The name Zzyzx was given to the area in 1944 by Curtis Howe Springer, claiming it to be the last word in the English language. Springer made up the word's pronunciation "zi-zix". He established the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa in 1944 at the spot, which was federal land, after filing mining claims for 12,000 acres (49 km 2 ) surrounding the springs. He used the springs to bottle his water and provide drinks for travelers through the hot desert. Springer also imported animals from around the country to attract more families to visit his ranch. He used Zzyzx until 1974, when he was arrested by the United States Marshals for misuse of the land as well as alleged violations of food and drug laws, and the land was reclaimed by the government.
Since 1976, the Bureau of Land Management has allowed California State University to manage the land in and around Zzyzx. A consortium of CSU campuses use it as their Desert Studies Center.
Lexicography
Word Ways magazine verified the source of the lexicography as an undated San Bernardino County map published by the Automobile Club of Southern California. The magazine characterized Zzyzx Springs as "a hydrologic feature and a privately owned spa catering to the senior citizen, about 8.5 mi (13.7 km) south of Baker on the western edge of Soda Dry Lake, off the abandoned right-of-way of the old Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad."
Zzyzx was approved as a place name by the United States Board on Geographic Names on June 14, 1984. As is the case with the road, Zzyzx, California, is the USBGN's lexicographically greatest (alphabetically last, at least in English alphabetical order) place name.
Popular culture references
- Referred to in the song "Zzyzx Scarecrow" by Stavesacre
- A song by American band, Stone Sour, from the Come What(ever) May album
- A novel by Michael Petracca, Captain Zzyzx (1992), ISBN 978-1877741067
- In a video for Beggars and Thieves (band), Beggars and Thieves (song) there is a 'Zzyzx Rd' sign shown.
- A mass burial site used by a serial killer in a novel by Michael Connelly, The Narrows (2004), ISBN 0-316-15530-6
See also
- Desert Studies Center
- Curtis Howe Springer for more information about the health spa
- Lake Tuendae
- Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad
- Zzyzx (disambiguation and other uses)
References
- ^ Bishop, Greg; Oesterle, Joe; Marinacci, Mike and Moran, Mark (2006). "A Utopia Spelled Z, Z, Y, Z, X". Weird California . Sterling Publishing Company. p. 54. ISBN 1402733844, ISBN 9781402733840 . http://books.google.com/books?id=z0MIT1MnNMMC&pg=PA54&as_brr=3&ei=O1PtSZzhE4uIkAS2moSgAQ .
- ^ http://www.metrolyrics.com/zzyzx-scarecrow-lyrics-stavesacre.html
External links
- Media related to Zzyzx, California at Wikimedia Commons
-
USGS GNIS entries for U.S. Geological Survey Geographical Names Information System: Zzyzx, U.S. Geological Survey Geographical Names Information System: Zzyzx Airstrip, and U.S. Geological Survey Geographical Names Information System:
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