| Inyo Mountains | |
| Country: | United States |
| Subdivision1 Type: | States |
| Parent: | Basin and Range Province |
| Borders On: | White Mountains, Sierra Nevada |
| Length Mi: | 70 |
| Width Mi: | 10 |
| Highest: | Waucoba Mountain[1] |
| Highest Location: | ~18 mi (29 km) southeast of Big Pine. |
| Elevation Ft: | 11123 |
| Coordinates: | 36.1667°N -118.0008°W |
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California in the United States.[2] The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately south-southeast from the southern end of the White Mountains, from which they are separated by Westgard Pass, to the east of Owens Lake.Geologically, the mountains are a fault block range in the Basin and Range Province, at the western end of the Great Basin. They are considered to be among the most important and best-known Late Proterozoic to Cambrian sections in the United States.[3]
Most of the mountain range (199208acres) is designated as the Inyo Mountain Wilderness, managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the south and the United States Forest Service in the north.[4] The USFS manages 73300acres of the wilderness all within Inyo National Forest.[5]
Wildlife in the area includes the endangered Inyo Mountains salamander and the desert bighorn sheep.[6] Plant communities include creosote and sagebrush at lower altitudes, and bristlecone pine forests at higher altitudes.[7] A number of rare and endemic plants are adapted to the unique limestone soils of the mountains, including the cliffdweller,[8] bristlecone cryptantha,[9] and Inyo rock daisy.[10]