West face of Spirit Mountain as seen from Christmas Tree Pass (view
north).
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Overview
Spirit Mountain, one of
the larger (33,518 acres) wilderness areas, includes a portion of the
Newberry Mountains and mountainous country between there and Lake
Mohave. The wilderness area is named for Spirit Mountain, an imposing
monolith of white granite that is an important site for native peoples
of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts who consider it to be the center of
their creation. East of Spirit Mountain, there is a jumble of
metamorphic and granitic mountains and deep canyons that run to Lake
Mohave. There are archaeological sites in the area, but not on Spirit
Mountain, proper. Springs and canyon potholes provides water for
wildlife. Elevations range from 5,639 feet at Spirit Mountain to about
2,100 feet at the lake.
The Spirit Mountain
Wilderness Area is separated from the Nellis Wash Wilderness Area by a
dirt road, and it is separated from the Bridge Canyon Wilderness Area
by another dirt road. Combined, these three wilderness areas protect
nearly 58,000 acres of designated wilderness.
If you hike in wilderness areas, help protect them by learning about and reporting noxious and invasive weeds.
Link to map
of
the wilderness
area.
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South face of Spirit Mountain as seen from Christmas Tree Pass Road
(view north).
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Location
The Spirit Mountain
Wilderness Area is located about 70 air-miles south of Las Vegas, just
north of Laughlin.
Boundaries
The northern boundary of
this kidney-shaped wilderness area is the Empire Wash road (which is
also the southern boundary of the Nellis Wash Wilderness Area), running
from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area boundary on the west to a
powerline corridor on the east. The eastern boundary follows the
powerline corridor to Lake Mohave, then follows the lake south to
Sacatone Wash. From there, it follows a dirt road along the base of the
mountains to Highway 163, which marks the southern boundary. The
western boundary runs along Christmas Tree Pass Road to the pass, then
runs north and angles slightly east to intersect the Lake Mead National
Recreation Area boundary, which it follow back to the Empire Wash road.
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Crags on the south slopes of Spirit Mountain (view east)
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Access
Access is from Christmas
Tree Pass Road, Highway 163, dirt roads on the north and south sides of
the wilderness area, and from Lake Mohave. Christmas Tree Pass Road is
a graded dirt road that runs east from Highway 95 to Christmas Tree
Pass, proper, then runs south to Highway 163. To the east of Christmas
Tree Pass, proper, the road is steep and narrow for a couple of miles,
possibly requiring a 4-WD vehicle in a few places when wet.
To access the west side
of the wilderness area, drive south from Cal-Nev-Ari on Highway 95 for
about 2.3 miles to Christmas Tree Pass Road (about 5.0 miles north of
Highway 163). There is a small road sign for the turnoff; there is also
a fairly large, covered information sign on the east side of the road
that you can see from a long ways.
To access the south side
of the wilderness area, drive east from Highway 95 on Highway 163 for
about 12.9 miles to Christmas Tree Pass Road (a few miles west of
Laughlin). There is a small road sign for the turnoff. Drive north on
Christmas Tree Pass Road, which is the southwest boundary of the
wilderness area.
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Broad wash and mountains southeast of Spirit Mountain (view east).
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Terrain
The area is located in
the rugged Newberry Mountains, which rise to an elevation of about
5,600 feet. There are rugged granite peaks strewn with granite boulders
and steep canyons throughout much of the area, although gentle bajadas
and more rounded hills lie to the southeast of Spirit Mountain.
Habitat
Type
The habitat type at
Christmas Tree Pass Pinyon-Juniper Woodland with California Juniper and blackbrush, with a bit of yucca,
singleleaf pinyon, cholla, shrub live oak, and other species mixed in. The hillsides
are rocky with rounded granitic outcrops. In the rocky canyons
and washes at the base of Spirit Mountain, the vegetation is a juniper
forest with a diverse flora (including paperbag bush, catclaw
acacia, buckhorn cholla, a variety of composite shrubs, bitterbrush,
yucca, nolina, buckwheat, shrub live oak, desert willow,
pinyon pine, wax current, rabbitbrush, hedgehog cactus, Nevada jointfir, Mormon tea, and barrel cactus. At lower elevations, the
vegetation is less diverse and more typical of Mojave Desert Scrub
(creosote bush, white bursage, and other shrubs). In the washes, there are desert
willow, cottonwood trees, grapevines, common reed, and lots of rabbitbrush.
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Rock outcrops on the bajada southeast of Spirit Mountain (view
northeast).
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Wildlife
Mammals include desert
bighorn sheep, mule deer, pocket mice and other burrowing rodents,
desert woodrats, bobcats, coyotes, desert cottontail, black-tailed jackrabbit,
and bats. Reptiles include desert tortoise, chuckwallas, and several
other species of lizards. Snakes include speckled and Mojave
rattlesnakes, gopher snakes, long-nosed snakes, and several other
species of snakes. Birds include Western Scrub-jay, Black-throated
Sparrow, Phainopepla, Red-tailed Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cactus Wren,
Costa's Hummingbird, Crissal thrasher, and Bell's vireo. Sensitive
species include the California leaf-nosed bat, Gila monster,
Townsend's big-eared bat, and Yuma myotis.
Archaeology
and Cultural Importance
Spirit Mountain is
important to the native peoples of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts as
the center of their creation. The Pai groups (tribal groups such at the
Wala 'Pai, Yavi 'Pai, and Havasu 'Pai). The Hopi and Chemehuevi also
consider this an important site, but not the spiritual birthplace.
There are no known archaeological resources or identified physical
evidence of traditional religious use within the area. Because
traditional practitioners limited secular activities on the mountain,
the absence of artifacts highlights the importance of Spirit Mountain
for Yuman-speaking people and suggests that the area was used
exclusively for religious purposes.
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Gentle, rounded hills and broad, flat slopes in the southeast portion
of the wilderness area contrast with the mountainous areas to the north
(view southeast)
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The Spirit Mountain area
has been designated a Traditional Cultural Property by the BLM and the
National Park Service, and it is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. Along with the federal land managers, Spirit Mountain
is monitored by the Aha'Mahv, a group from Fort Mojave.
Geology
The northern part of the
wilderness area is composed of granites and older metamorphic rocks.
The granites date from about 1.4 billion years ago and the metamorphic
rocks are composed of gneiss and schists that date from about 1.7
billion years ago. These rock types are separated by faults. The
southern part of the area is composed of coarsely granular (granitic)
intrusive rocks, which are separated from the northern rocks by more
faults.
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