General Patton in the Dunes

Primary Operations in Imperial County:

• Camp Pilot Knob: Located near Felicity, CA (about 5 miles northwest of Yuma, AZ, near the current I-8), this was the main divisional camp in Imperial County. It was established in April 1943 to simulate the "unforgiving" terrain of North Africa.

• Patton Valley: Located within the Imperial Sand Dunes (Algodones Dunes), this specific corridor was used by Patton to train tank crews and motorized units. He identified these dunes as the only place on Earth that could realistically simulate the "bottomless" sand of the Sahara Desert.

• Maneuver Areas: Patton’s 3rd Armored Division utilized the vast open spaces between the Chocolate Mountains and the Colorado River for live-fire exercises and large-scale tactical maneuvers.