The Clark Mountain Range is located in southeastern

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 ...

, north of

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 ...

and the community of Mountain Pass. The range stretches approximately 15 miles (24 km) in a southwest-northeasterly direction, beginning 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 ...

, and ending near Stateline Pass, about one mile (1.6 km) from the

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. Clark Mountain, at 7,929 feet (2,417 m) above sea level, is the principal peak of the range. The foothills of the range are in

creosote Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics. Some creosote types were ...

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 ...

forests, which adjoin the dense Joshua tree woodlands atop Cima Dome. Higher up,

pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple food of Native Americans, and widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in Ne ...

and juniper grow on the "

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 ...

" which occasional rains create above 6,000 feet (1,800 m). The north side of the crest contains a small forest of

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 ...

trees, which is extremely difficult to reach. Clark Mountain is one of three mountain areas where these rare trees persist; Kingston and

New York Mountains The New York Mountains are a small mountain range found in northeastern San Bernardino County in California, USA. The range's northeastern area lies in southeastern Nevada. The range lies just south of the small community of Ivanpah, and north ...

are the other two areas where the Rocky Mountain white fir – ''Abies concolor'' can be found in California.

traverses the mountain pass between the Clark Range and the Mescal Range to the south. The small town of Mountain Pass is located just south of the range on the north side of I-15. The Mountain Pass rare earth mine owned by

Molycorp Minerals Molycorp Inc. was an American mining corporation headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The corporation, which was formerly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, owned the Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California. It filed for bankrup ...

is a recently reactivated rare earth element mine on the southern flank of the mountain. A major mine expansion project began in January 2011.Form 10-Q:
Molycorp SEC filing, November 15, 2010 The range contains Keany Pass and the Umberei Mine.

References

*Zdon, Andy. ''Desert Summits''. Spotted Dog Press: Bishop, CA, 2000. {{authority control Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert Mountain ranges of San Bernardino County, California Ivanpah Valley Mojave National Preserve

See also

References