The Little San Bernardino Mountains, located partially in Joshua Tree National Park, are in the highly transpressive regime adjacent to the San Andreas Fault. The transpressive environment is the result of 27° of plate obliquity between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate. Apatite fission-track and (U-Th)/He data and modeling were used to constrain exhumation rates, timing of transpression, and deformation within the transpressive zone. The results of the study indicate that exhumation rates are inversely correlated with distance from the San Andreas Fault in this area. Maximum exhumation rates vary from 0.42 to 0.62 mm/yr over the last 5-7 Myr, but abruptly decrease by a factor of 5 or more at a distance of about 12 km from the SAF. To accommodate the varying thermochronometer ages and implied exhumation rates, north tilting of the Little San Bernardino Mountains is required. The thermochronologic data suggest at least one major fault at ∼12 km north of the San Andreas fault. This structure separates rapid cooling and exhumation within 12 km of the SAF from the slower cooling and exhumation farther than 12 km north of the SAF. The differential exhumation rates are likely the result of northern tilt driven by localized convergent deformation as the region experienced a change from transtension to transpression about 5-7 Ma.