Tonopah Desert Tonopah Desert The Tonopah Desert is a small desert plains region of the Sonoran Desert, located west of Phoenix, Arizona. It is adjacent north of Interstate 10 and lies at the southwest intersection of the Hassayampa River with the Gila River. The Tonopah Desert is also just north of the Gila Bend Mountains massif which create the Gila Bend of the river. The Tonopah Desert is adjacent northwest of the small Palo Verde Hills on Centennial Wash. The Tonopah Desert is mostly east-west trending, small, approximately 30 mi long, and lies at the plains of low elevation mountains north; the
Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District Removal of irrigation caused these plants to die, altering the landscape. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, and was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 2016. Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District The Painted Desert Community Complex is the administrative center of Petrified Forest National Park. The community center includes administrative facilities, utility structures and National Park Service employee housing, planned by architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander as part of the Mission 66 park facilities improvement program. Work on the community began in 1961 and was completed by 1965. The complex