McCullough Range | |
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![]() The McCullough Range as seen from Eldorado Valley in Southern Nevada | |
Highest point | |
Peak | McCullough Mountain [1] |
Elevation | 2,141.5 m (7,026 ft) |
Geography | |
Country | United States |
State | Nevada |
District | Clark County |
Range coordinates | 35°54′57″N115°2′54″W / 35.91583°N 115.04833°W Coordinates: 35°54′57″N115°2′54″W / 35.91583°N 115.04833°W |
Topo map | USGS Sloan NE |
The mountains in the McCullough Range lie mostly above the city of Henderson in the U.S. state of Nevada. The range has two distinct areas with the northern portion being primarily volcanic in origin, while the southern part of the range is primarily composed of metamorphic rock.
McCullough Range was named after a pioneer settler. [3]
Some of the northern part of the range is designated as the North McCullough Wilderness Area by the US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management while some of the southern part of the range is similarly designated as the South McCullough Wilderness Area. In addition the North McCullough Wilderness Area is within the newly designated Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area which allows further protection and enhancement. [4]
The McCullough Range is surrounded by three valleys. First, the Las Vegas Valley lies to the north; next, the north region of the Ivanpah Valley, with two major dry lakes borders the west; and to the east lies the endorheic basin of the Eldorado Valley. The range specifically borders one mountain range at the south, being connected to the northeast higher elevation foothills of the New York Mountains. Just northeast of the intersection of the two ranges, and in the southwest of Eldorado Valley lies the small Highland Range.
In the northern portion of the McCullough Range elevation spans from 2,000 ft (610 m) at the eastern base of the range to 5,092 ft (1,552 m) at Black Mountain. The peaks are volcanic in origin, rounded to flat-topped, and have a steep eastern escarpment and a gradual western slope. The area supports a unique combination of plants from the Mojave and Sonoran deserts and Great Basin Desert ecosystems.
The primary vegetation is a creosote bush community with barrel cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus), Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia), various chollas (Cylindropuntia spp.) and prickly pears (Opuntia spp.). Unlike other mountain ranges in Clark County, the McCullough Range is volcanic in origin. Examples of lava flows, ash falls and glassy zones are clearly visible. The area supports native black gramma grass (Bouteloua eriopoda), which is not known to occur anywhere else in Nevada and stands of teddy bear cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii), which is the northernmost extent of the species. Remarkable petroglyph panels and other important cultural resource features occur within the wilderness area. [5]
Another peak northeast of Black Mountain is home to most of the radio and television transmission towers for the Las Vegas Valley.
The southern portion consists of a north–south mountain range that drops off gradually to numerous valleys, foothills and sloping bajadas on the east and west flanks. Elevations range from 2,500 ft (760 m) in the northwest portion of the area to 7,026 ft (2,142 m) at McCullough Mountain in the center of the wilderness. Most of the area is composed of metamorphosed Precambrian rock, granite, and schist, although basalt and andesite flows occur in the northern reaches of the southern portion. Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) scrub occurs below 4,500 ft (1,400 m); Joshua trees, Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera), and other cacti occur between 3,500–5,000 ft (1,100–1,500 m); blackbrush occurs between 4,500–5,000 ft (1,400–1,500 m); pinyon-juniper occurs above 5,000 ft (1,500 m). Scattered mesquite/catclaw communities also occur in washes throughout the area.
Signs of prehistoric and Pre-Columbian habitation have been found in the area, including rock art, occupation and settlement sites, and pinyon pine nut caches. This was part of the historic homeland of the Mojave people.
The desert tortoise, Nelson bighorn sheep, Gambel's quail and chukar are present. [1]
The Mojave Desert is a xeric desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, with small portions extending into Arizona and Utah.
The Great Basin Desert is part of the Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Range. The desert is a geographical region that largely overlaps the Great Basin shrub steppe defined by the World Wildlife Fund, and the Central Basin and Range ecoregion defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and United States Geological Survey. It is a temperate desert with hot, dry summers and snowy winters. The desert spans a large part of the state of Nevada, and extends into western Utah, eastern California, and Idaho. The desert is one of the four biologically defined deserts in North America, in addition to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts.
The Spring Mountains are a mountain range of Southern Nevada in the United States, running generally northwest–southeast along the west side of Las Vegas and south to the border with California. Most land in the mountains is owned by the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management and managed as the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Carpenter Canyon is a canyon on the western side of the Spring Mountains, partially within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, in Clark County, southern Nevada west of the Las Vegas Valley.
The Owens Peak Wilderness is a 73,767-acre (298.52 km2) wilderness area comprising the rugged eastern face of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Owens Peak (8,445 ft) is the high point. The land was set aside with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 by the US Congress.
The El Paso Mountains Wilderness was created in 1994 and now has a total of 23,780 acres (96.2 km2). All of the wilderness is in the northern Mojave Desert in eastern Kern County, California and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It is located south of Ridgecrest, California.
The Chuckwalla Mountains are a mountain range in the transition zone between the Colorado Desert—Sonoran Desert and the Mojave Desert, climatically and vegetationally, in Riverside County of southern California.
The Piute Mountains are a mountain range located in the Eastern Mojave Desert and within Mojave Trails National Monument, in San Bernardino County, California.
The Bigelow Cholla Garden Wilderness is in the eastern Mojave Desert and within Mojave Trails National Monument, located in San Bernardino County, California.
Clark Mountain is a mountain located in the Clark Mountain Range in the Mojave National Preserve, close to the California-Nevada border.
The Kiavah Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Mojave Desert, Scodie Mountains, and southern Sierra Nevada in Kern County, California, United States. California State Route 178 connects the town of Lake Isabella to State Highway 14 in the east, crossing Walker Pass at the north boundary of the wilderness.
Arrow Canyon Wilderness is a 27,530-acre (11,140 ha) wilderness area located in Clark County in the U.S. state of Nevada. It received wilderness designation with the passage of the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 and protects the northern portion of the Arrow Canyon Range. The Arrow Canyon Wilderness is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
The Piper Mountain Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located in the White Mountains 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Big Pine, California in Inyo County, California.
The Sylvania Mountains Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located 30 miles (48 km) east of Bishop in the state of California. The wilderness is 18,677acres in size and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The California Desert Protection Act of 1994 created the Sylvania Mountains Wilderness and was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System. The wilderness is bordered by Nevada stateline on the east, Piper Mountain Wilderness on the west and Death Valley National Park to the south.
The Chimney Peak Wilderness is a 13,134-acre (53.15 km2) wilderness area located 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Ridgecrest, in southeastern Tulare County, California.
The Mesquite Mountains are a mountain range in eastern San Bernardino County, California, near the border with Nevada. They are north of Interstate 15 in California and southeast of Death Valley.
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa is a species of cactus known by the common names silver cholla, golden cholla, and Wiggins' cholla. It was formerly named Opuntia echinocarpa.
The Stateline Wilderness is a wilderness area located in San Bernardino County, California, approximately three miles northwest of Primm, Nevada and I-15. Having an area of approximately 7,004 acres (2,834 ha), it contains the eastern terminus of the 15-mile-long (24 km) Clark Mountain Range.
The Whipple Mountains Wilderness is a 76,122-acre (30,805 ha) wilderness administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Most of the Whipple Mountains are within the wilderness area. It is located in the northeastern Colorado Desert near the Colorado River. Lake Havasu and Lake Havasu City are 25 miles (40 km) to the North. Earp, California and Parker, Arizona are 20 miles (32 km) to the South. The Parker Dam is 8 miles (13 km) due east.
This article incorporates public domain text from Bureau of Land Management sources listed above.