Needles is a city located in the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

 on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County

San Bernardino County, California

San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is located in the Mohave Valley

Mohave Valley

The Mohave Valley is a small valley, mostly on the east shore of the south-flowing Colorado River in northwest Arizona; the valley borders southeast California's San Bernardino County; also, the north of the valley borders extreme southeast Clark County, Nevada...

, which straddles the California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

–Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40

Interstate 40

Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...

 and U.S. Route 95

U.S. Route 95

U.S. Route 95 is a north–south U.S. highway in the western United States. Unlike many other US highways, it has not seen deletion or replacement on most of its length by an encroaching Interstate highway corridor, due to its mostly rural course...

. The population was 4,844 at the 2010 census, up from 4,830 at the 2000 census.

Needles was named after "The Needles", a group of pointed rocks on the Arizona side of the river. The large Mohave Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 community, shares the nearby Fort Mojave Indian Reservation

Fort Mojave Indian Reservation

The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation along the Colorado River, currently encompassing 23,669 acres in Arizona, 12,633 acres in California, and 5,582 acres in Nevada. The reservation was originally established in 1870 and is now home to approximately 1,100 members of the...

 and the town.