The Old Woman Mountains are located south of the town of Essex, California

Essex, California

Essex is a small unincorporated town in San Bernardino County, California. Essex lies on Old National Trails Highway - part of the old Route 66 - just south of Interstate 40 in the Mojave Desert.-History:...

, and north of Danby Dry Lake. The range reaches an elevation of 3720 feet (1,133.9 m) at the northeastern end (Mercury Mountain), and lies in San Bernardino County in the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

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Geography

The mountain range is approximately 15 miles (24.1 km) wide east to west at the widest point, and 25 miles (40.2 km) in length from north to south. The mountains receive very little precipitation, with just 4-10 inches of rain falling in a normal year. The Old Woman Statue, a prominent rock formation, is found on the eastern side of the range about two miles (3 km) south of Paramount Spring.

Old Woman Mountains Wilderness Area

The Old Woman Mountains Wilderness

Old Woman Mountains Wilderness

Old Women Mountains Wilderness is a wilderness area located south of Essex, California. This wilderness was established in 1994 and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management....

 Area, with many natural features, protects much of the range for recreation.

Flora and fauna

The lower elevations of the range are dominated by Creosote bush

Creosote bush

Larrea tridentata is known as Creosote bush as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and as "gobernadora" in Mexico, Spanish for "governess," due to its ability for inhibiting the growth of nearby plants to have more water. In Sonora, it is more commonly called "hediondilla." It is a flowering...

 scrub, with juniper-pinyon woodland found in the higher elevations. The dry washes are characterized by catclaw acacia

Acacia greggii

Acacia greggii is a species of Acacia native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and Nuevo León in...

, cheesebush, desert lavender, little-leaf ratany, and desert almond.

Animals found in the mountains include: bighorn sheep

Bighorn Sheep

The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...

, mule deer

Mule Deer

The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...

, bobcat

Bobcat

The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...

s, cougars, coyotes, black-tailed jackrabbits, ground squirrel

Ground squirrel

The ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less...

s, kangaroo rat

Kangaroo rat

Kangaroo rats, genus Dipodomys, are small rodents native to North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form: as they hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, although they are not related...

s, and several species of lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...

s.

Numerous raptor

Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 are likely to be found in the area; including prairie falcons, red-tailed hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...

s, golden eagle

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

s, Cooper's hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from Canada to Mexico. As in many birds of prey, the male is smaller than the female...

s, American kestrel

American Kestrel

The American Kestrel , sometimes colloquially known as the Sparrow Hawk, is a small falcon, and the only kestrel found in the Americas. It is the most common falcon in North America, and is found in a wide variety of habitats. At long, it is also the smallest falcon in North America...

s, as well as several species of owl

Owl

Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...

s. The washes and canyons provide good habitat for several species of songbirds, and the bird densities and diversity is further enhanced by the presence of the known 24 springs and seeps.

History

The mountains were the discovery site of the Old Woman Meteorite

Old Woman Meteorite

The Old Woman Meteorite is the largest meteorite found in California and the second largest in the United States. It was discovered in the Old Woman Mountains in southern California in late 1975. It is 38 inches long, 34 inches high, and 30 inches wide...

, the largest meteorite ever found in the state. The meteorite is now on display at the Desert Information Center in Barstow, California

Barstow, California

Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 22,639 at the 2010 census, up from 21,119 at the 2000 census. Barstow is located north of San Bernardino....

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External links

• Official Old Woman Mountains Wilderness website
• Wilderness.net: Old Woman Mountains Wilderness Area