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The Spring Mountains are a mountain range
Mountain range

A mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by mountain pass or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes, uplifted mountains or Fold mountains...
 of southern Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, running generally northwest-southeast along the west side of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, Nevada, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment....
 and down to the border with California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
. The highest point is Mount Charleston
Mount Charleston

Mount Charleston, formally named Charleston Peak, is the highest mountain of the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada, approximately northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada....
, at . They are a sky island
Sky island

Sky islands are mountains in mountain ranges isolated by valleys in which other ecosystems are located. As a result, the mountain ecosystems are isolated from each other, and species can develop in parallel, as on island groups such as the Gal?pagos Islands....
. The range is named for the number of spring
Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring is a point where groundwater flows out from the ground, and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface.Dependent upon the constancy of the water source , a spring may be ephemeral or Perennial stream ....
s to be found, many of them in the recesses of Red Rock
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada is a 198,000 acre area managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area....
, which is on the eastern side of the mountains. The Spring Mountains divide the Pahrump Valley and Amargosa River
Amargosa River

The Amargosa River is an intermittent stream, long, in southern Nevada and eastern California in the United States. It drains a high desert region northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada into Death Valley, where it disappears into the ground....
 basin from the Las Vegas Valley
Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas metropolitan area includes the Las Vegas Valley, a 600-square-mile basin, and surrounding areas, that is part of Clark County, Nevada in southern Nevada....
, which drains into the Colorado River, thus the mountains define part of the boundary of the Great Basin
Great Basin

The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries depend on how it is defined. Its most common definition is the contiguous drainage basin, roughly between the Wasatch Mountains, in Utah and the Sierra Nevada , that has no natural outlet to the sea....
.

With an area of about 2,220 kmē, and a vertical range of nearly two miles, the mountains encompass a wide variety of habitats
Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or Natural_environment area that is inhabited by a particular animal or plant species. It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population....
, and the biological diversity is probably greater than anywhere else in Nevada.






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The Spring Mountains are a mountain range
Mountain range

A mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by mountain pass or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes, uplifted mountains or Fold mountains...
 of southern Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, running generally northwest-southeast along the west side of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, Nevada, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment....
 and down to the border with California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
. The highest point is Mount Charleston
Mount Charleston

Mount Charleston, formally named Charleston Peak, is the highest mountain of the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada, approximately northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada....
, at . They are a sky island
Sky island

Sky islands are mountains in mountain ranges isolated by valleys in which other ecosystems are located. As a result, the mountain ecosystems are isolated from each other, and species can develop in parallel, as on island groups such as the Gal?pagos Islands....
. The range is named for the number of spring
Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring is a point where groundwater flows out from the ground, and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface.Dependent upon the constancy of the water source , a spring may be ephemeral or Perennial stream ....
s to be found, many of them in the recesses of Red Rock
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada is a 198,000 acre area managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area....
, which is on the eastern side of the mountains. The Spring Mountains divide the Pahrump Valley and Amargosa River
Amargosa River

The Amargosa River is an intermittent stream, long, in southern Nevada and eastern California in the United States. It drains a high desert region northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada into Death Valley, where it disappears into the ground....
 basin from the Las Vegas Valley
Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas metropolitan area includes the Las Vegas Valley, a 600-square-mile basin, and surrounding areas, that is part of Clark County, Nevada in southern Nevada....
, which drains into the Colorado River, thus the mountains define part of the boundary of the Great Basin
Great Basin

The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries depend on how it is defined. Its most common definition is the contiguous drainage basin, roughly between the Wasatch Mountains, in Utah and the Sierra Nevada , that has no natural outlet to the sea....
.

Charleston Peak2
Mount Charleston Vertical
With an area of about 2,220 kmē, and a vertical range of nearly two miles, the mountains encompass a wide variety of habitats
Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or Natural_environment area that is inhabited by a particular animal or plant species. It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population....
, and the biological diversity is probably greater than anywhere else in Nevada. 37 species of tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s are known (more than any other Nevadan range), and 600 species of vascular plant
Vascular plant

Vascular plants are those plants that have lignin tissue for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the ferns, clubmosses, flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms....
s have been reported from the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada is a 198,000 acre area managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area....
 alone. The bases of the mountains are part of the Lower Mojavean Zone, dominated by creosote bush
Creosote bush

Larrea tridentata, known as creosote bush , is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae. It is a prominent species in the Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Chihuahuan Desert Deserts of western North America, including portions of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and western Texas in the United States, and norther...
 and white bursage, then there is a Blackbrush Zone followed by a Pygmy Conifer Zone with juniper
Juniper

Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America....
, pinyon pine
Pinyon pine

The pinyon pine group grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The trees yield edible pine nut, which were a staple of the Indigenous people of the Americas, and are still widely eaten....
 and mountain-mahogany
Mountain-mahogany

Cercocarpus, commonly known as the Mountain-mahogany, is a small genus of five or six species of deciduous shrubs or small trees in the rose family , native to the western United States and northern Mexico, where they grow in semi-desert climates, often at high altitudes....
, topped by a montane zone around Mt. Charleston and its connecting ridges.

Other major summits include Bonanza Peak, McFarland Peak
McFarland Peak

McFarland Peak is a limestone peak in the northern portion of the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada.It is located north of Mount Charleston....
, Mummy Mountain
Mummy Mountain (Nevada)

Mummy Mountain is the second highest mountain of the Spring Mountains in Nevada.It takes its name from its vague resemblance to a mummy, or perhaps more accurately an Egyptian sarcophagus seen in profile, with the "head" to the north formed by outcropping above Lee Canyon, the gently rounded main summit forming the "body", and a southern ri...
, Griffith Peak
Griffith Peak

Griffith Peak is located in the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada approximately northwest of the Las Vegas Strip and southeast of Mount Charleston....
, Bridge Mountain
Bridge Mountain

Bridge Mountain is one of the mountains surrounding Red Rock Canyon in the Spring Mountains of Nevada. It is named after the natural feature of a bridge-like natural arch near the summit....
, Mount Wilson
Mount Wilson (Nevada)

Mount Wilson is the second highest peak in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It is located in Clark County, Nevada....
, and Mount Potosi.

Most land in the mountains is owned by the United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service

The USDA Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 United States National Forest and 20 United States National Grassland....
 and the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately 264 million acres or one-eighth of the landmass of the country....
 and managed as the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area
Spring Mountains National Recreation Area

The Spring Mountains National Recreation Area is a United States National Recreation Area, administered by the U.S. Forest Service, and lies west of Las Vegas, Nevada....
 and Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada is a 198,000 acre area managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area....
 within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest , currently led by Edward Monnig, the Forest Supervisor, is the principal U.S. National Forest located in the U.S....
.

The area around Mt. Charleston is protected in the Mount Charleston Wilderness. Typically 20-30 degrees cooler than the valleys below, the area is a popular getaway for Las Vegas residents and visitors; the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort
Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort

The Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, also known to locals as Lee Canyon, is located in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, about 45 minutes' drive northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, Nevada via US 95....
 lies in Lee Canyon on State Highway 156.

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