The Jackson Mountains are a north-northeast trending mountain range in southwestern Humboldt County, Nevada. 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 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 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 (Washoe County, Nevada), County Route 447 (former State Route 34 (Nevada), State Route 34) near Gerlach, NV, Gerlach east to Winnemucca, ...

( Jungo Road) and the Union Pacific 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 compet ...

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 sedimentary and metamorphic rocks intruded by Mesozoic igneous rocks 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 configurat ...

volcanic rocks. 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 l ...

'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. Intersta ...

. 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