Mojave Placenames - Ibis - Sacred Egyptian Bird or Mountain Goat ?

Photo by Pdxrailtransit

One would not ever expect to see a large water bird in the Mojave Desert, so I have always wondered about how Ibis, California, got it's name. Originally, the siding, some 20 miles west of Needles, was named Ibex by the Santa Fe in 1896. This name fit in with the alphabetical ordering of Mojave District sidings, but in 1904 the name was changed to Ibis, after Ibis Mountain, which in turn was named for the Ibis Mine. Photo shows a BNSF westman pig heading into the sunset.