Desert Training Center By 1942, Desert Center had very few residents. It was then that the Army, under the direction of Maj. General George S. Patton, established the Desert Center Army Air Field and the Camp Desert Center to support operations in the California-Arizona Maneuver Area. The base covered . Its purpose was to train troops for combat in the deserts of North Africa against the forces of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The enormous operation came to a close in 1944, when the Allies were victorious in the North African theatre. A museum honoring Patton and his training complex is located in Chiriaco Summit. After the military's departure, the town became quiet again, remaining relatively unchanged as the old U.S. Route 60/70 was replaced by Interstate 10. Eagle Mountain Mine and Prison The site of Kaiser Steel Eagle Mountain Mine, which was one of the largest open-pit iron mining operations in the world at the time of opening, is located about north of Desert Center. The rich iron ore deposit was discovered by geologists employed by Henry J. Kaiser during construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct in the early 1930s. The Eagle Mountain Mine operated at capacity from World War II until Kaiser closed the mine and the town of Eagle Mountain in early 1982. Movies & TV shows have used the mine as a filming location, including scenes from the Terminator 2: Judgment Day—first Terminator movie in 3-D. A for-profit prison was operated by Utah's Management and Training Corporation here in facilities leased from Kaiser Steel. Nine weeks before it was closed on December 31, 2003, a race riot claimed the lives of two black prisoners. Plans for a project to operate an enormous waste management landfill at the mine site were stopped by environmentalists' legal actions taken to protect the surrounding Colorado Desert ecosystem and the groundwater aquifer. Desert Center today Today, the town barely survives. The United States Post Office is the only remaining business. The nearest gasoline and fast food are at Chiriaco Summit, over 19 miles away. Desert Center is home to agricultural farms, two mobile home parks frequented by "snowbirds", and the Lake Tamarisk community, which includes a golf course and that was founded by the Kaiser Steel Corporation for mine management. Desert Center Airport has a runway, but last operated as a public airport in 1992. It is now privately owned and