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Infra-red stimulated luminescence has been used to date periods of sand deposition in the Mojave Desert, California. Dates from the Cronese Basins, Kelso Dunes and Silver Lake are compared with published IRSL ages to provide evidence for discrete pulses of sand accretion during the late Pleistocene and Holocene, linked to both arid and pluvial climates. A critical factor in aeolian deposition throughout this area is shown to be the availability of sand from existing source areas.