Needles is a city located on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California. It is located in Mojave Valley, which straddles the California-Arizona border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95. The population was 4,830 at the 2000 census, and was estimated at 5,700 by mid-2008. Needles was named after "The Needles," a group of pointed rocks on the Arizona side of the river. There is a relatively large Mohave community, although they are not the majority.

Mohave people had been living in the area for hundreds, if not thousands, of years prior to the European exploration of the area. In 1859, Fort Mojave was built to protect immigrants to California and other travelers from the Mohave.

The city was founded in 1883 as a result of the construction of the railroad, which crosses the Colorado at this point. The name is derived from pointed mountain peaks at the south end of the valley.

Historic U.S. Route 66 passes through the city, lined with motels and other shops from that era. Needles is a tourism and recreation center, a tradition going back for decades.

Needles, like Death Valley, is known for extreme heat during the summers. Temperatures in Needles routinely reach 120 °F (49 °C) in late July and early August. The Needles weather station is frequently reported by the United State government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the site of the highest daily temperature recorded in the U.S. during the hot desert summers. Needles occasionally sets national or world daily high temperature records.

Major employment in the city is supported by the BNSF Railway (formerly the Santa Fe Railroad). The depot has been a terminal (crew change point) for the railway since the late 1800s. The railroad company has been the city's main employment source for over a century.

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