The Jackson Mountains are a north-northeast trending

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in southwestern Humboldt County,

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 ...

. The range is flanked on the west by the

Black Rock Desert __NOTOC__ The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region (in the Great Basin shrub steppe eco-region) of lava beds and playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a si ...

and the

Black Rock Range The Black Rock Range is a mountain range in northwestern Nevada. It is named for Black Rock Point, which is located at the southern end of the range. The Black Rock Range divides the Black Rock Desert into eastern and western arms. Pahute Peak, ...

beyond. To the north across the

Quinn River The Quinn River, once known as the Queen River, is an intermittent river, approximately long, in the desert of northwestern Nevada in the United States. It drains an enclosed basin inside the larger Great Basin. It rises in northeastern Humbold ...

and

Nevada State Route 140 State Route 140 (SR 140) is a two-lane state highway in Humboldt County, Nevada. It serves a sparsely populated section of the state, connecting northwestern Nevada to southern Oregon. Most of the highway was originally part of State Route 8A, ...

lie the Bilk Creek Mountains. To the northeast across

Kings River Valley Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

is the Double Mountains and to the east are the Sleeping Hills. To the southeast and south lie the Eugene and Kamma Mountains. The ghost town of

Sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

lies just southwest of the pass between the Jackson and Kamma ranges.

Nevada State Route 49 Former State Route 49, also known as Jungo Road, is an unimproved road in Northern Nevada from County Route 447 (former State Route 34) near Gerlach east to Winnemucca via the ghost towns of Sulphur and Jungo. It crosses the Kamma Mountain ...

(

Jungo Jungo Connectivity is an Israeli software company that specializes in driver monitoring system (DMS) software and device driver development. History Jungo Connectivity was founded in 2013 as an automotive software divestiture from Cisco Systems. ...

Road) and the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

railroad

Feather River Route The Feather River Route is a rail line that was built and operated by the Western Pacific Railroad. It was constructed between 1906 and 1909, and connects the cities of Oakland, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The line was built to compete ...

traverse this pass.''Nevada,'' DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer, 8th ed. 2012, pp. 19-20, 27-28 The range is typical of the

Basin and Range Province The Basin and Range Province is a vast physiographic region covering much of the inland Western United States and northwestern Mexico. It is defined by unique basin and range topography, characterized by abrupt changes in elevation, alternating ...

with isolated high mountains surrounded by downfaulted basins filled with sediments. The rocks of the range include

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...

and

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...

rocks intruded by

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock ...

s and covered by Mesozoic and

Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...

volcanic rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic r ...

s. The highest peak in the range is Quinn Peak, reaching 9,085 ft (2,769 m). Other mountain peaks include: * King Lear Peak 8842 ft * Parrot Peak 8448 ft * Navajo Peak 7726 ft * Buff Peak 7425 ft * Deer Creek Peak 7106 ft * Sugarloaf Knob 6214 ft * White Peak 5285 ft

Wilderness areas

Today the majority of the range is divided into two federally protected wilderness area, the North Jackson Mountains Wilderness and the South Jackson Mountains Wilderness. The South Jackson Wilderness offers a panoramic view including the

, from the top of King Lear Peak at 8,442 feet. Topography of the wilderness is characterized by steep-sided and sharp-crested ridges spotted with juniper and are considered to be the most rugged 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. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

's Winnemucca District. Remnants of the historic Red Butte copper mining district can still be found nearby. The North Jackson Mountains Wilderness' topography is characterized by steep-sided, sharp-crested ridges spotted with juniper, and V-shaped rocky valleys. Elevations in the Wilderness range from 4,000 feet to the high point of Parrot Peak at 8,400 feet. Deep rugged canyons are laden with aspen, willow, and cottonwood groves. Several riparian streams support small populations of introduced rainbow trout.

Access and recreational opportunities

The Jackson Mountains are located in Humboldt County, 56 miles west of

Winnemucca, Nevada Winnemucca () is the only incorporated city in, and is the county seat of, Humboldt County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,431, up 14.0 percent from the 2010 census figure of 7,396. Interst ...

. Access can be reached from Winnemucca by taking the Jungo Road west for 35 miles to Bottle Creek Road. The Jackson Mountain Range can also be reached by taking the Leonard Creek or Bottle Creek Roads south from State Route 140. The two wildernesses are divided by Trout Creek Road. The South Jackson area has canyons on the west side of the mountains which provide access for dayhiking and backpacking. McGill, Bliss, and Alaska Canyons are scenic. The eastern slopes of the South Jackson are gentler in terrain and more suitable for horse travel. Photography, wildlife and wild horse viewing opportunities exists throughout the wilderness area. Hunting for mule deer, California bighorn sheep, antelope and game birds is popular in the area. The North Jackson area provides for camping, dayhiking, photography, wildlife and wild horse viewing opportunities. Deer Creek, Mary Sloan, Happy Creek, and Jackson Creek are scenic streams in the North Jackson Mountains Wilderness. Due to the ruggedness of the area; base camping and dayhiking is recommended.

References

{{Black Rock Desert, brdcat=Mountain ranges Mountain ranges of Humboldt County, Nevada Mountain ranges of Nevada