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The Keys family created one of the most successful homesteads in the Joshua Tree National Park area, and this viewpoint is named for the family and the ranch that sits near the Hidden Valley Nature Trail and campground. From this 5,185-foot overlook in the San Bernardino Mountains you'll gain an excellent view of the Coachella Valley and the Indio Hills that mark the San Andreas Fault's course through the valley. Keys View is a great spot to contemplate the forces at work here, as you can see the earth rise from near sea level on the valley floor all the way to the 10,834-foot summit of Mount San Jacinto. The collision of plates (Pacific and North American) at the fault creates this massive uplift immediately west, the steepest of its kind in the country.

Palm Springs sits beneath Mount San Jacinto, and Indio is the town to the south along I-10, its location marking sea level. In fact, this entire Salton Basin would be part of the Gulf of California were it not for the massive deposits made by the Colorado River over millions of years. Because of these deposits, the basin remains below sea level and still dry, at least for the time being. The basin has hosted lakes in the past, as is evidenced by the dry beds and the Salton Sea itself, which is 230 feet below sea level and visible to the south on a clear day.

About seven to nine million years ago, the Mojave Desert was semi-arid, covered in soft rolling hills and vegetation, a vastly different scene than the dry, cactus-filled ground today. The granite bedrock was covered by soil which formed from water moving down through the rock, assisted by joints in the granite. Slowly, the jointed granite became more rounded, resulting in tall, elongated boulders encased by soil. As the landscape became drier, less water was available to chemically weather the rock and remove debris away, and soil stopped forming so rapidly. Rounded boulders and small rocks were left behind, no longer having enough water to carry away eroded material. Inselbergs can be found at Hidden Valley, Caprock, Jumbo Rocks, and Ryan Campground. They look like islands of rock.