Newberry Springs is an unincorporated community in the western Mojave Desert of Southern California, located at the foot of the Newberry Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Newberry Spring is a spring that in the 19th century supplied water to the local Santa Fe Railway and originally was a camping place. The population at the 2000 census was 2,895. Geography and climate Newberry Springs is located east of Barstow, approximately due west of the Mojave National Preserve, and approximately south of Death Valley National Park. The town is in area. It is approximately above sea level. The region maintains an average daytime summer temperature of . In the winter, lows generally get into the 20s, with a dry, cold climate, the immediate area receiving less than of rain per year. Newberry Springs is a typical desert oasis. Ancient volcanic rock formations, lava beds, sand dunes, mineral springs, and hidden mud baths are found in the area. The area is irrigated by the Mojave Aquifer, the largest aquifer in the Western United States, which makes possible a diverse and abundant agriculture and a number of man-made lakes. Transportation Interstates 15 and 40 run through the area. BNSF Railway's transcontinental main line and historic Route 66 both run through the town. History The original name of Newberry Springs was, at least briefly, "Watson", with a post office established in Feb 1883, and discontinued later that year in July. The Southern Pacific Railroad then named the location "Newberry", and eventually the post office was re-established under that name in 1899. In 1911 the post office name was changed to "Wagner", and in 1919 to "Water". At some point prior to 1931 the name was changed back to "Newberry", and in 1967 to "Newberry Springs", apparently to avoid confusion with Newbury Park (near Oxnard CA). Since its earliest days the area in and around Newberry Springs has been a source of water for the surrounding arid region. Camp Cady, located at the western terminus of the Mojave Road just 12 miles north of present-day Newberry Springs, was a resting place and watering hole along the Mojave River for wagon trains coming to California in the 1850s on the old Mormon Trail. In the 1880s the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad hauled tank cars of water from Newberry Springs to the stations and towns in the region, making life in this arid land possible.