The Argus Range is a mountain range located in
Inyo County, California
Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County i ...
, southeast of the town of
Darwin
Darwin may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection
* Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...
. The range forms the western boundary of
Panamint Valley
The Panamint Valley is a long basin located east of the Argus and Slate ranges, and west of the Panamint Range in the northeastern reach of the Mojave Desert, in eastern California, United States.
Geography
The northern end of the valley is in ...
, and the northwestern boundary of
Searles Valley
Searles Valley is a valley in the northern Mojave Desert of California, with the northern half in Inyo County and the southern half in San Bernardino County, California, United States.
Searles Valley is located between the Argus Range to the we ...
. The
Coso Range is located to the west, and the
Panamint Range
The Panamint Range is a short rugged fault-block mountain range in the northern Mojave Desert, within Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, eastern California. Dr. Darwin French is credited as applying the term Panamint in 1860 during his ...
to the east.
Geography
The Argus Range is one of the westernmost of the
Basin and Range Province
The Basin and Range Province is a vast physiographic region covering much of the inland Western United States and northwestern Mexico. It is defined by unique basin and range topography, characterized by abrupt changes in elevation, alternatin ...
ranges.
The northern end of the range is just south of the
Panamint Springs Resort on
Highway 190. The range runs south to
Argus Peak, just northwest of
Searles Lake
Searles Lake is an endorheic dry lake in the Searles Valley of the Mojave Desert, in northwestern San Bernardino County, California. The lake in the past was also called Slate Range Lake and Borax Lake.
The mining community of Trona is on its ...
, near the town of
Trona, California. In addition to Argus Peak, the range contains
Maturango Peak.
The crest of the Argus Range is located within
NAWS China Lake
Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Installat ...
and so the peaks of this range are off-limits to the general public. The two peaks that are most alluring to would-be hikers are Argus Peak () and Maturango Peak () towering to the west of Panamint Valley.
Argus Range Wilderness
The Argus Range Wilderness, under the administration of the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), runs along the east side of the Argus Range.
It extends from the military reservation on the west to the foot of the Argus Range on the east. For most of its length, this wilderness area is no more than two miles (3 km) wide. Several private property holdings are located within this wilderness area including a rather deep cherry-stem at Snow Canyon and a parcel known as Onyx Springs between Shepherd and Bendire Canyons. Many land-owners were affected by the creation of the Argus Range Wilderness Area in 1994 .
References
External links
Argus Range Wilderness website Bureau of Land Management.
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert
Protected areas of the Mojave Desert