The Cortez Mountains are located in north central

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The range lies in a southwest-northeasterly direction between Crescent Valley and Pine Valley.

Mount Tenabo Mount Tenabo (Shoshoni: "Lookout Mountain") is the principal peak in the Cortez Mountains. The mountain is of cultural and religious significance to the Western Shoshone people. Etymology There are various theories as to the name's etymology. Th ...

is the principal peak of the range, at 9,153 feet above sea level. Surrounding ranges include: the

Shoshone Range The Shoshone Range is a mountain range in Lander County, Nevada. The northeast end of the range extends into Eureka County Eureka County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2 ...

to the northwest, the Pinon and

Sulphur Springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underg ...

ranges to the east, the

Simpson Park Mountains The Simpson Park Mountains, also known as the Simpson Park Range, are located in Lander and Eureka counties, in central Nevada in the western United States. The mountains reach an elevation of at Fagin Mountain, and cover an area of approximate ...

to the south and the

Toiyabe Range The Toiyabe Range is a mountain range in Lander and Nye counties, Nevada, United States. Most of the range is included within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The highest point in the range, near its southern end, is Arc Dome (11,788 ...

to the southwest across the narrow Cortez Canyon.''Crescent Valley, Nevada,'' 30x60 Minute Topographic Series, USGS, 1987 The northeastern end of the range reaches the

Humboldt River The Humboldt River is an extensive river drainage system located in north-central Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in the Jarbidge, Independence, and Ruby Mountains in Elko County, to its terminus in th ...

at Palisade about southwest of Carlin.''Battle Mountain, Nevada,'' 30x60 Minute Topographic Series, USGS, 1988 The Bureau of Land Management oversees 70% of the range, while privately held land accounts for the other 30%.

Vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic charact ...

is primarily pinyon-

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

shrub, and

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an al ...

steppe. At least four different

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

live in the range. The side-blotched lizard and the

chisel-toothed kangaroo rat The chisel-toothed kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys microps'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. There are 13 sub-species. Atriplex, Saltbush leaves are a major dietary component, requiring specialized physiology to eliminate the salt ...

are also found in the mountains. The range is named after

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish '' conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

, the 16th-century Spanish conquistador.

References

*Biological Resources Research Center

*''Nevada Atlas & Gazetteer'', 2001, pg. 38 Mountain ranges of Eureka County, Nevada Mountain ranges of Nevada {{EurekaCountyNV-geo-stub