Where the spirit dwells: The wonders of Avi Kwa Ame — PHOTOS

The desert is carpeted with yellow flowers along Grandpa's Road in a superbloom created from monsoon rains. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Bighorn sheep graze in the South McCullough Wilderness within the proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument site. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A female phainopepla rests on a branch at the proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A moth comes to rest on the canyon bottom in Hiko Springs. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A spiny lizard relaxes on a hot rock along Christmas Tree Pass Road. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A round-tailed ground squirrel eats a snack. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A western honey bee gathers nectar. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Millennia have weathered holes into the rocks of Ave Kwa Ami. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The desert is carpeted with yellow flowers along Grandpa's Road in a superbloom created from monsoon rains. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A coyote blends into the desert landscape. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A sphinx moth feeds on nectar. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A window in the rocks of the South McCullough Wilderness area within the Avi Kwa Ame proposed National Monument site. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Joshua Trees cover the landscape within the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area as Spirit Mountain rises in the distance. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A male phainopepla takes flight. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A southwestern speckled rattlesnake seeks cover along Christmas Tree Pass Road . (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A chuckwalla lizard seeks the safety of a rock split along Christmas Tree Pass Road. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A vulture soars above Christmas Tree Pass Road. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Native American petroglyphs line the rock walls along the canyon bottom in Hiko Springs. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Millennia have weathered holes into the rocks of Ave Kwa Ami. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

The proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument spans 703 square miles south of the Las Vegas Valley, stretching from eastern edge of the Lake Mead Recreation Area to the California border. The land, listed as a Traditional Cultural Property on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1999, is sacred to a dozen tribes; the Yuman-speaking tribes regard it as the place of their creation. At the eastern edge of the monument, Spirit Mountain rises toward the desert sky; the Mojave tribe calls it Avi Kwa Ame (pronounced Ah-VEE kwa-meh). In the vastness of this magical place, the mountain is the holy of holies, the center of the universe. The land of the proposed monument is bisected by U.S. 95; near its center, an island in the wilderness, is the town of Searchlight. Monument status­ — which President Joe Biden said in November is forthcoming — would protect the remainder of the area, preserving it not only as a place of cultural and spiritual value, but also as a zone of stunning natural beauty and biodiversity.