The Mt. Moriah Wilderness is a wilderness area in the northern part of the

Snake Range The Snake Range is a mountain range in White Pine County, Nevada, United States. The south-central portion of the range is included within Great Basin National Park, with most of the remainder included within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest ...

White Pine County White Pine County is a largely rural, mountain county along the central eastern boundary of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,030. Its county seat is Ely. The name "(Rocky Mountain) white pine" is an old ...

, in the eastern section of the state of Nevada in the western United States. The Mt. Moriah Wilderness was designated in 1989 and is administered by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the

U.S. 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 ...

, as some in the northern portion of the Wilderness lies on BLM land.Mt. Moriah Wilderness
- Wilderness.net

Topography

Mount Moriah, the namesake of the Wilderness, rises above the Snake Valley on its east flank and the Spring Valley on the west. At and stretching north and west of the peak is a unique plateau called the Table.Mt. Moriah Wilderness
- Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Much of the area is composed of limestone and shallow caves are common in the Wilderness.

Archeology

Archaeological sites including caves utilized by Native Americans, pictographs, and

lithic Lithic may refer to: *Relating to stone tools **Lithic analysis, the analysis of stone tools and other chipped stone artifacts **Lithic core, the part of a stone which has had flakes removed from it **Lithic flake, the portion of a rock removed to ...

scatters are found in the Wilderness.Mount Moriah Wilderness
- GORP

Vegetation

:''See: :Flora of the Great Basin'' The Mount Moriah Wilderness lies within the Intermountain sagebrush/ ponderosa pine ecosystem and vegetation varies with the elevation. Pinyon pine and

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

dominate the lower slopes, while aspen, mountain mahogany, white and

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

, limber pine, and bristlecone pine are found in the upper elevations.

Wildlife

A variety of wildlife and fish species inhabit the Mt. Moriah Wilderness. The majority of the area is summer range for mule deer, although some of the lower elevation benches and riparian areas are used year-round.

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subsp ...

can be found throughout the year in the area, as well as blue grouse, sage grouse, and chukar.

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

, and the unique Bonneville cutthroat trout are found in the area's perennial streams, including Hampton Creek, Hendry's Creek, and Smith Creek.

References

External links

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest: official Mount Moriah Wilderness website

Mt. Moriah Wilderness
- Wilderness Connect

Trails.com: Nevada Hikes - Mount Moriah

official Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest website

National Atlas: Map of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
{{authority control Moriah Wilderness Moriah Wilderness Moriah Wilderness Moriah Wilderness Moriah Wilderness