The Mormon Mountains are located in
Lincoln and
Clark counties in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
,
between 16 and northwest of
Mesquite
Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...
on
I–15 in the
Virgin Valley, east of the
Meadow Valley Mountains and
Meadow Valley and northeast of
Moapa Valley.
[''Overton, Nevada–Arizona'', 30x60 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1987] The highest point in the range is
Mormon Peak, at above sea level.
[''Moapa Peak NW, Nevada,'' 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, USGS, 1969] Another smaller mountain range lies to the east, called the
East Mormon Mountains. The south fork of the Toquop Wash drains the east side of the range and continues on through the N–S linear ridge of the East Mormon Mountains.
[
The mountains fall under the jurisdiction of the ]Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...
(BLM) and cover approximately . The Mormon Mountains are home to several different species of lizard
Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
s, and ground snake
Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
s, toad
Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands.
In popular culture (folk taxonomy ...
s and bullfrogs can be found in the region. The lower elevations of the range are mostly shrublands
Spring Park is a small area in London, England. It is within the London Borough of Bromley and the London Borough of Croydon, straddling the traditional Kent-Surrey border along The Beck. Spring Park is located north of Addington, London, Adding ...
, but at higher elevations one can find "pygmy conifers" and single-leaf pinyon pines, in the Pinyon-juniper woodland plant community
A plant community is a collection or Association (ecology), association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The comp ...
.
The area is characterized by very low rainfall, receiving less than per year, on average.
The range was named for the fact a share of the first settlers were Mormons
Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...
. A variant name is "Mormon Range".
Mormon Mountains Wilderness
As part of the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act signed into law on 30 November 2004, in the area were designated as wilderness.
References
External links
*
Biological Resources Research Center
Mountain ranges of Lincoln County, Nevada
Mountain ranges of Nevada
Mountain ranges of the Great Basin
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