The Black Mountains, a mid-Miocene formation, in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, 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. N ...

are a series of rugged, arid rocky volcanic mountains ranging in elevations to 3310 ft. The range lies on the north shore of

Lake Mead Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. ...

, at the southwest corner of the

Overton Arm Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. ...

, about 25 mi south of

Overton, Nevada Overton is a community that is part of the unincorporated town of Moapa Valley in Clark County, Nevada. Overton is on the north end of Lake Mead. It is home to Perkins Field airport and Echo Bay Airport. History Overton was originally settle ...

. The Black Mountains are mostly within the

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a U.S. national recreation area in southeastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Operated by the National Park Service, Lake Mead NRA follows the Colorado River corridor from the westernmost boundary of Gran ...

, with a small valley bordering north, the Bitter Spring Valley at the southeast of the arid

Muddy Mountains The Muddy Mountains are a large mountain range in Clark County, Nevada. The Muddy Mountains surround a north section of Bitter Spring Valley, which also lies at the northwest perimeter of the Black Mountains, lying on a north shore of an east-w ...

Deep canyons and washes that flow southeast into the Overton Arm of Lake Mead cut into the mountain range. The range contains deposits of soft manganese oxides/hydroxides.

History

The Armijo Route of the

Old Spanish National Historic Trail Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

ran down the

Virgin Valley The Virgin Valley is a valley in northwest Arizona and southeast Nevada on the Virgin River. The Virgin River drains southwest Utah and southeast Nevada; parts of Arizona, especially the Arizona Strip region drain southwards into the Virgin River ...

-Overton Arm section of the valleys now occupied by

. The trail descended the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

from the mouth of the Virgin River, avoided Boulder Canyon, at the southwest of the Black Mountains, where the range is separated from the Black Mountains in Arizona. The trail heading west to

Las Vegas Wash Las Vegas Wash is a 12-mile-long channel (an Arroyo (creek), "arroyo" or "wash") which feeds most of the Las Vegas Valley's excess water into Lake Mead. The wash is sometimes called an ''urban river'', and it exists in its present capacity because ...

, entered the mountains, went southwest of Pyramid Peak to Pinto Valley, and then skirted Hamblin Mountain to the south, with

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Sephardi Jews, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian language, Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all List of countries and territories where Portuguese is an officia ...

and Razorback Ridges north; past Cottonwood Spring. North of those ridges lies the small, but broad, arid drainage valley, Bitter Springs Valley, which is southeast of, and adjacent the

. The trail passes the southern third of the mountain range on the west, making the circuit around Hamblin Mountain and descending Callville Wash. The southwestern end of the Black Mountain range, is now at

Callville Bay Callville Bay is a waterway on the northwestern side of Lake Mead in the U.S. state of Nevada. It has a marina and camping resort. Situated east of Las Vegas and upstream from Las Vegas Bay, it lies within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, w ...

. At the time of the Old Spanish Trail the trail led to the bottom land valley along the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

below the mouth of Boulder Canyon, that headed towards Las Vegas Wash.

Access

The northwest, and north of the mountains can be accessed by the paved route, North Shore Road, from

Nevada State Route 564 State Route 564 (SR 564) is an east–west highway in Clark County, Nevada, in the southeast portion of the Las Vegas Valley. The route travels through the city of Henderson, traveling from the junction of Interstate 215 (I-215) and I-11 ...

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...

, about 30-mi to the south-southwest. Lake Mead & Boulder City

References

External links

{{commons category, Black Mountains (Nevada)
Hamblin Mountain, trails.com
Lake Mead National Recreation Area Mountain ranges of Nevada Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert Mountain ranges of Clark County, Nevada