Inside California's MOST Dangerous Desert City! скачать в хорошем качестве

Inside California's MOST Dangerous Desert City!

Needles, California, is a small desert city on the California–Arizona–Nevada border, deep in the Mojave Desert along the Colorado River. Once a Route 66 stopover and an important hub for the BNSF Railway, today Needles has become known for something very different—its decline, its crime, and its reputation as one of the most troubled towns in the state. Most of Needles’ housing stock was built during its mid-20th century boom, from the 1940s through the 1960s, but now many of those homes sit vacant, baking under the desert sun. What remains is a city struggling with rampant crime, heavy drug use, and a large visible population of tweakers that have given Needles a terrible reputation across California. Year after year, it consistently ranks as one of the most dangerous cities in the state relative to its size. Economically, Needles has been hollowed out. The 2008 recession wiped out much of its business community, and what survived was hit hard again when COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the local economy. Over the years, countless businesses simply moved across the river into Arizona, where taxes and costs are lower. The difference is striking: gas in Needles often sits at $6.12 a gallon, while just five minutes away in Arizona, the same fuel can be found for around $3.00. Despite its small population, Needles is packed with marijuana dispensaries, one of the few industries that thrive here by drawing travelers from Arizona and Nevada. But even that hasn’t been enough to turn the tide for a city many describe as abandoned and forgotten. Needles is also infamous for its extreme desert climate. It holds the record for Earth’s hottest rainfall and regularly competes with Death Valley for the nation’s highest temperatures, often only a few degrees cooler. The environment mirrors the city’s own unforgiving reality. The railroad remains Needles’ last lifeline. The BNSF Railway is still a dominant force here, and the city continues as an Amtrak stop, faintly tethering it to the outside world. Yet despite its history, geography, and rail significance, Needles is often seen as a failed desert city—a place of vacancy, crime, and unbearable heat, stuck in its own forgotten corner of California. #california #crime #dangerous #mojavedesert #abandoned #creepy #desertexploration #vegaslife #exploration #desert #vegas #vegaslocal #lasvegas #travel #travelvlog #southwest