Clark Mountain is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

located in the Clark Mountain Range in the

Mojave National Preserve Mojave National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31, 1994, with the passage of ...

, close to the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

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, ...

border.

Geography

The mountain rises abruptly north of Mountain Pass and

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Cana ...

to an elevation of , which is the highest point of the

and the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

ranges. Path 46 and Path 64 (part of Path 46) 500 kV power lines run to the north and south of the mountain, respectively.

Ecology

The higher elevations of the mountain are a striking

sky island Sky islands are isolated mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. The term originally referred to those found on the Mexican Plateau, and has extended to similarly isolated high-elevation forests. The isolation has s ...

contrast to the lower elevations of the Mojave Desert

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 characte ...

. Google Earth images.

Creosote bush ''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and ''gobernadora'' (Spanish for "governess") in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In S ...

(''Larrea tridentata''), scrub and

Joshua tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

(''Yucca brevifolia'') forests grow on the foothills of the mountain while single-leaf pinyon pine (''Pinus monophylla''), Utah juniper (''Juniperus osteosperma''), and

white fir ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain ranges ...

(''Abies concolor'') grow on the sky island at the highest elevations. The high elevation of the mountain means that snow falls on the high peaks during the winter, although the mountain receives little precipitation annually.

Recreation

Clark Mountain is also a world-class rock climbing area developed by Randy Leavitt in 1992. It has been described as containing the best limestone climbing in America and includes the world's first-ever route,

Chris Sharma Chris Omprakash Sharma (born 23 April, 1981) is an American rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. He dominated sport climbing for the decade after his 2001 ascent of '' Real ...

's '' Jumbo Love'' (2008). In 2022, French climber Seb Bouin, added a ''direct start'' to ''Jumbo Love'' to create ''

Suprême Jumbo Love ''Jumbo Love'' is a long sport climbing route on remote limestone cliffs on Clark Mountain in the Mojave Desert. Bolted by American climber Randy Leavitt in the 1990s, he invited Chris Sharma to attempt it in 2007. When Sharma completed the f ...

'', which at , became the hardest sport climb in North America.

References

* * {{authority control Mojave National Preserve Mountains of San Bernardino County, California Natural history of the Mojave Desert Mountains of Southern California

Geography

Ecology

Recreation

See also

References