Dead Mountains

This article is about the mountain range in California. For the mountain range in Austria, see Totes Gebirge.

Coordinates: 35°1′40.002″N 114°44′55.891″W / 35.02777833°N 114.74885861°W / 35.02777833; -114.74885861

Dead Mountains
Mountain Range
Seen from Needles Highway-(I-40)
Country	United States
State	California
Region	(southeast)-Mojave Desert (Lower Colorado River Valley)
District	San Bernardino County
Borders on	Newberry Mountains (Nevada)-N Piute Valley & Wash-W & S Colorado River-E Interstate 40 in California-S
City	Needles, CA–Mohave Valley, AZ
Coordinates	35°1′40.002″N 114°44′55.891″W / 35.02777833°N 114.74885861°W / 35.02777833; -114.74885861
Highest point	Mount Manchester
- elevation	1,097 m (3,599 ft)
Length	11 mi (18 km), N-S
Width	5 mi (8 km), E-W-(widest at north)
Timezone	Pacific (UTC-8)
- summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
Topo map	USGS Mount Manchester
location of Dead Mountains in California [1]

The Dead Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, California.^[1] The range borders the tri-state intersection of Nevada, Arizona and California, and the Mohave Valley, with the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation bordering the range foothills on the east and northeast, in the three states.

Geography

The Dead Mountains are 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Needles, California. They border the Colorado River on the east, and the Piute Wash of the Piute Valley on the west. Piute wash drains south, then turns east for 8 mi at the south of the range to meet the Colorado River.

Mount Manchester is the highest point at 3,598 feet (1,097 m).^[2]

Dead Mountains Wilderness

The rust colored mountains, which cover forty six thousand seven hundred fifty eight acres were designated the Dead Mountains Wilderness in 1994 by the United States Congress. They are maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.^[3] The vegetation is mostly creosote bush and desert wash scrub. The California Desert Conservation Area ^[4] is located within the wilderness and Smoke trees are found there.

The wildlife found on the mountains includes coyote, a small herd of bighorn sheep, rattlesnakes, falcons, hawks, eagles. A portion of the wilderness is critical habitat for the endangered Desert Tortoise.^[5][6]

See also

• Category: Flora of the California desert regions
• Category: Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert
• Category: Protected areas of the Mojave Desert

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Dead Mountains". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1660533. Retrieved 2009-05-04. 
2. ^ USA.gov. California Desert District
3. ^ Dead Mountains Wilderness
4. ^ BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
5. ^ Dead Mountains wilderness fauna
6. ^ Synopsis of conservation information on the desert tortoise

External links

• Official Dead Mountains Wilderness Area website
• California Desert Conservation Area website