Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California in the United States.[3] The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately 70 miles (110 km) south-southeast from the southern end of the White Mountains, from which they are separated by Westgard Pass, to the east of Owens Lake.
Inyo Mountains | |
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Inyo Mountains from space | |
Highest point | |
Peak | Waucoba Mountain[1][2], ~18 mi (29 km) southeast of Big Pine. |
Elevation | 11,123 ft (3,390 m) |
Coordinates | 36°10′00″N 118°00′03″W |
Dimensions | |
Length | 70 mi (110 km) |
Width | 10 mi (16 km) |
Geography | |
Country | United States |
States | California and Nevada |
Parent range | Basin and Range Province |
Borders on | White Mountains, Sierra Nevada |
Geologically, the mountains are a fault block range in the Basin and Range Province, at the western end of the Great Basin. They are considered to be among the most important and best-known Late Proterozoic to Cambrian sections in the United States.[4]
Wilderness
Approximately 205,000 acres (830 km2) of the range are designated as the Inyo Mountain Wilderness managed by the Bureau of Land Management.[2] Much of the northern part of the range is within Inyo National Forest.
Wildlife in the area includes the endangered Inyo Mountains Salamander and the Desert Bighorn Sheep.[5] Plant communities include creosote and sagebrush at lower altitudes, and bristlecone pine forests at higher.[2] A number of rare and endemic plants are adapted to the unique limestone soils of the mountains, including the cliffdweller,[6] bristlecone cryptantha,[7] and Inyo rock daisy.[8]
References
- "Waucoba Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
- "Gorp Destinations: Inyo Mountains Wilderness". Archived from the original on 2010-05-13. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
- "Inyo Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
- Localities of the Cambrian: White-Inyo Mountains
- "BLM: Inyo Mountain Wilderness". Archived from the original on 2004-08-11. Retrieved 2004-06-27.
- CNPS: Caulostramina
- CNPS: Cryptantha roosiorum
- CNPS: Perityle inyoensis
External links
- High Inyo Mountains Fossils, California
- Ammonoids At Union Wash, California Virtual field trip to a classic fossil locality along the western flanks of the Inyo Mountains
- Inyo Mountain Wilderness at BLM
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