Clark Mountain (California)


Clark Mountain is a mountain located in the Clark Mountain Range in the Mojave National Preserve, close to the California-Nevada border.

Geography

The mountain rises abruptly north of Mountain Pass and Interstate 15 to an elevation of, which is the highest point of the Mojave National Preserve and the Mojave Desert ranges.
Path 46 and Path 64 500 kV power lines run to the north and south of the mountain, respectively.

Ecology

The higher elevations of the mountain are a striking sky island contrast to the lower elevations of the Mojave Desert vegetation. Creosote bush, scrub and Joshua tree forests grow on the foothills of the mountain while Single-leaf Pinyon Pine, Utah juniper, and White fir grow on the sky island at the highest elevations.
The high elevation of the mountain means that snow falls on the high peaks during the winter, although the mountain receives little precipitation annually.

Recreation

Clark Mountain is also a world-class rock climbing area developed by Randy Leavitt in 1992. It has been described as containing the best limestone climbing in America.