The Sacramento Mountains are a

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 the Eastern

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 in ...

and within

Mojave Trails National Monument Mojave Trails National Monument is a large U.S. National Monument located in the state of California between Interstates 15 and 40. It partially surrounds the Mojave National Preserve. It was designated by President Barack Obama on February 12, ...

, in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...

Geography

The range is southwest of Needles and form part of the towns west and southwest border; the range is east of the Piute Mountains, south of the Dead Mountains, and northwest of the

Chemehuevi Mountains The Chemehuevi Mountains are found at the southeast border of San Bernardino County in southeastern California adjacent the Colorado River. Located south of Needles, California and northwest of the Whipple Mountains, the mountains lie in a north� ...

. The range lies in a northwest-southeasterly direction south of

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

, and reach an elevation of 3,308 feet above sea level at Eagles Peak. The Sacramento Mountains are approximately 16 miles long. Eagle Pass and Eagle Peak are in the south-center of the range; an unimproved road through Eagle Pass connects Needles to the Ward Valley. Flattop Mountain, at , lies at the northwest of the range just south of Interstate 40. The Sacramento Mountains are bordered on the west by the Ward Valley which merges southeasterly into the southeast-draining Chemehuevi Valley and Wash. The southeast of the Sacaramento's merge into a range of equal size, the

. Both ranges are bordered on the east by a southeast-flowing

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 ...

which turns back southwest at the

Whipple Mountains The Whipple Mountains ( Mojave: Avii Kur'utat; Chemehuevi: Wiyaatuʷa̱) are located in eastern San Bernardino County, California. They are directly west of the Colorado River, Parker Dam, and Lake Havasu; south of Needles, California; north of ...

. Needles lies at the east and southeast of the range, as the Colorado River flows along the perimeter of the mountain; the river follows the southwest corner of the

Mohave Valley The Mohave Valley is a valley located mostly on the east shore of the south-flowing Colorado River in northwest Arizona. The valley extends into California's San Bernardino County; the northern side of the valley extends into extreme southeast ...

of the

Fort Mojave Indian Reservation The Fort Mohave Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation along the Colorado River, currently encompassing in Arizona, in California, and in Nevada. The reservation is home to approximately 1,100 members of the federally recognized Fort Mojav ...

and

Mohave Valley, Arizona Mohave Valley ('Amat' 'Analy Uuhwely in Mojave) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The population was 2,693 at the 2020 census. It is geographically connected to Needles, ...

. The southeast of the Sacramento Mountains border the Chemehuevi's with higher elevations in the Chemehuevi's along the Colorado. At this southern section of the Mohave Valley,

Interstate 40 in California Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Barstow, California, to Wilmington, North Carolina. The segment of I-40 in California is sometimes called the Ne ...

crosses into

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

south of Topock and the

Topock Marsh Havasu National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California. It preserves habitat for desert bighorn sheep, the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, and other animals. The refug ...

. The Chemehuevi Wash and Valley southwest of the Sacramento Mountains is one of the major washes along the western California side of the Colorado River. The

Piute Wash The Piute Wash of extreme southeastern Nevada and northeast San Bernardino County California is the south-flowing drainage of the Piute Valley. The wash and valley are located northwest of Needles, California. The Piute Wash watershed and Piute ...

drains northwest of Needles. Mostly minor, shorter length washes and valleys are found southward towards

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

and

Winterhaven, California Winterhaven (formerly, Karmack) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Imperial County, California, Imperial County, California. Winterhaven is east of Pilot Knob (Imperial County, California), Pilot Knob, The population was 394 at the 2010 census ...

, many miles downstream. ;Name The Sacramento Mountains are also named for the

Sacramento Wash The Sacramento Wash is a major drainage of northwest Arizona in Mohave County. The wash is east of the Black Canyon of the Colorado and drains into the south-flowing Colorado River 45 mi south of Lake Mohave, and 90 mi south of Hoover D ...

and

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

across the

across from the range, that drains northwestern

Mohave County, Arizona Mohave County is in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is Kingman, and the largest city is Lake Havasu City. It is the fifth largest county in the United St ...

into the

Adjacent ranges

* Turtle Mountains — ''on south''. * Piute Mountains — ''to the west''. * Dead Mountains — ''to the north''. *

— ''to the southeast''.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Sacramento Mountains (California)
Mountainzone.com: Sacramento Mountains (coordinates)
Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert Mountain ranges of San Bernardino County, California Mojave Trails National Monument Mountain ranges of the Lower Colorado River Valley