Eastern Mojave Vegetation U. S. Highway 50  
 

Tom Schweich  

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Literature Cited
  (No Preface)
 

Other Articles: Interstate 80: 18000  

Junction: U. S. Interstate 80, west to San Francisco, or east through Sacramento, and over the Sierra Nevada.
     

West Sacramento

 
      Bridge over the Sacramento
Sacramento City Limits

Other Articles: CA Hwy 99: 33800 U. S. Interstate 5: 50200  

Junction:
  • US I-5, north through Red Bluff and Redding to Oregon and Washington, south to Los Angeles.
  • US Hwy 99,north up to east side fo the Sacramento, rejoining US Interstate 5 at Red Bluff, south through Fresno and Bakersfield, rejoining US Interstate 5 near the Grapevine.

Other Articles: CA Hwy 99: 34400  

Sacramento

Junction: California Highway 99, south to Fresno and Bakersfield, rejoining US Interstate 5 near the Grapevine.
      Sacramento City Limits
 

Other Articles: California Highway 49: at US Hwy 50  

Placerville

Junction: California Highway 49, south to Jackson, Angels Camp, Sonora, etc., or north to Auburn and the Yuba River.
     

Echo Summit

Elevation: 7377 ft (2248 m).
 

Other Articles: Field Notes: 31-Jul-04  

 

Other Articles: California Highway 89: at US Hwy 50 West  

Junction:California Highway 89, south over Luther Pass to Hope Valley, through Markleville, and then over Monitor Pass to US Hwy 395.

Other Articles: California Highway 89: at US Hwy 50 East  

Junction: California Highway 89, north on the west side of Lake Tahoe to Truckee, Lassen National Park, and ultimately to Mount Shasta.
Full 
Size Image Lake Tahoe as seen from the south.  

Locations: Lake Tahoe.  

South Lake Tahoe

South Lake Tahoe
      California above …
Nevada below …
      Lake Tahoe State Park -- Cave Rock Unit.

Literature Cited:
- Schweickert, Richard A, Mary M. Lahren, Robert Karlin, Jim Howle, and Ken Smith, 2000.  

Locations: Cave Rock.  

Cave Rock.

Prominent hornblende trachyte plug, eroded by wave action during probable Tahoe-age highstands of Lake Tahoe. Tsumani wave heights of up to 6m could be expected here. An 1879 issue of the San Francisco Examiner reporteda possible tsunami at Glenbrook, and attributed collapse of rocks at Cave Rock to this event (Schweickert, et al., 2000, p. 14).

      Junction:Nevada Highway 207, east over Daggett Pass and into the Carson Valley.
      Shakespeare Point
 

Locations: Glenbrook.  

Glenbrook

Literature Cited:
- Schweickert, Richard A, Mary M. Lahren, Robert Karlin, Jim Howle, and Ken Smith, 2000.    

Captain Pomin Rock to the north and west of US Hwy 50 is a hornblende latite plug that intrudes a hornblende trachyte unit (Schweickert, et al., 2000).
 

Other Articles: Nevada Highway 28: Spooner Junction  

Spooner Junction, Junction:
  • Nevada Highway 28
     

Spooner Summit

 
      Junction: U. S. Highway 395, South, From this junction, US Hwy 50 continues west to Lake Tahoe and Sacramento. US Hwy 395 continues south to Bridgeport, Bishop, etc.
     

Carson City

 

Other Articles: U. S. Highway 395: at US Hwy 50 East at US Hwy 50 West  

Junction: U. S. Highway 395, North , From this junction, US Hwy 50 continues east across central Nevada. US Hwy 395 continues north to Reno.
     

Empire

 
      Junction: Nevada Highway 341, Turn off to Virginia City.
     

Dayton

 
     

Silver Springs

Junction: Alt U. S. Highway 95.
      Lyon County, Nevada
Churchill County, Nevada

Other Articles: U. S. Hwy Alt-50: Junction  

Junction: U. S. Highway Alternate 50, northwest to U. S. Interstate 80 at Fernley, Nevada. Typically, we exit US Hwy 50 here and go to I-80 to cross the Sierra Nevada.

Other Articles: U. S. Highway 95: at US Hwy 50.

Locations: Fallon.  

Fallon

Junction: U. S. Highway 95
      Grimes Point Archeological Area.
     

Salt Wells

Salt Wells Brothel.

Literature Cited:
- Caskey, S. John, John W. Bell, and D. Burton Slemmons, 2000.  

Locations: Rainbow Mountain.  

Turnoff to Rainbow Mountain, ~0.4 miles southeast of the Salt Wells Brothel. This would be the location of Caskey, Bell, and Slemmons (2000) field trip Stop 1, Wave-modified Paleoscarp (?) and 6 July 1954 Fault Ruptures, about 2.5 miles north.
     

Eight Mile Flat

Salt dry lake.

Literature Cited:
- Caskey, S. John, John W. Bell, and D. Burton Slemmons, 2000.    

Road south-southeast to Huck Salt Mine. Hike 0.3 miles south to Stop 2, Channel Exposure and Holocene Paleoseismicity on the Four Mile Flat Fault, of Caskey, Bell, and Slemmons (2000).

Four Mile Flat of the Salt Wells Basin is to the southeast, whereas Eight Mile Flat is to the northwest.

Literature Cited:
- Criswell, D. R., J. F. Lindsay, and D. L. Reasoner, 1975.
- Pavlik, Bruce Michael, 1985.
- Trexler, Dennis T., and Wilton N. Melhorn, 1986.
- Trimble, Stephen, 1989. Full Size Image Sand Mountain, as seen from US. Highway 50

Other Articles: FAQ: Singing Sands Field Notes: 20020605330 Singing and Booming Sand Dunes: Sand Mountain, Nevada

Locations: Sand Mountain.  

Sand Mountain

Just off U. S. Highway 50 east of Fallon, Nevada, on the edge of Four Mile Flat, probably is the biggest Great Basin dune. In Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon describes it as "a single massive mound of tawny sand . . . of such size that, while it wasn't perhaps big enough to be a mountain by everybody's definition, it was surely more than a dune." ... Sand Mountain is one of several dunes known to make singing or booming sounds when the sand is set in motion down the slip face. Shearing between adjacent layers of moving sand appears to cause the sounds; although, the cause is by no means settled (Trexler and Melhorn, 1986). E. Raymond Hall introduced his 1946 classic Mammals of Nevada with a walk around Sand Mountain, where small mammals occur in a density equaled in few other habitats (Trimble, 1989)."
     

Sand Springs Range

 
     

Sand Springs Pass

 
      Junction: Nevada Highway 839

Other Articles: FAQ: Frenchman, NV

Locations: Frenchman.  

Frenchman

 
 

Locations: Dixie Valley.  

Dixie Valley, to the north.
     

Fairview Valley

Military Restricted Area.
      Fairview Historical Marker
      Junction: Nevada Highway 121, North, into Dixie Valley
 

Locations: Fairview Peak.  

Fairview Peak
     

Drumm Summit

 

Literature Cited:
- Slemmons, David B., and John W. Bell, 1987. Full Size Image BLM sign at the earthquake faults.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 2-Jun-05 Fairview Peak Road: 10000

Locations: Fairview Peak.  

Road south 5.5 miles to "Earthquake Fault," BLM sign.

The Fairview Peak fault zone is the most readily accessible area of 14 examples of historical surface faulting in the Basin and Range Province. It also provides a classic example of the kinds of seismo tectonic events that, with many repetitions in the last 10 or 20 million years, have developed the geologic features of this province (Slemmons, David B., and John W. Bell, 1987).

Full 
Size Image View north from Fairview Peak Road.  

Locations: Chalk Mountain.  

The little white conical mountain to the north of the highway is Chalk Mountain.
     

West Gate

 

Other Articles: Nevada State Route 361: at US Hwy 50  

Junction: Nevada Highway 361, south to Gabbs.
Full Size Image The Shoe Tree

Other Articles: Field Notes: 2-Jun-05  

The Shoe Tree.

Other Articles: Nevada Highway 772: 10000  

Junction: Nevada Highway 722. This highway goes east, and rejoins U. S. Highway 50 near Austin.
 

Locations: Clan Alpine Mountains.  

Clan Alpine Mountains to the north.
      Camp Creek Camp Ground.
     

Cold Springs

 
     

Edwards Creek Valley

 
     

New Pass Summit

Elevation: 6,348 ft. Desatoya Mountains to the south; New Pass Range to the north.
     

Smith Creek Valley

 
     

Shoshone Mountains

 
     

Mt Airy Summit

 
     

Reese River Valley

 

Other Articles: Nevada Highway 772: 90000  

Junction: Nevada Highway 722
     

Toiyabe Range

 

Literature Cited:
- Trimble, Stephen, 1989.    

"Large 'islands' like ... the Toiyabe Range still support mammals that need special habitats or food: the carniverous ermine, relict on six island mountains, and the white-tailed jackrabbit, a six-and-a-half-pound herbivore dependent on large meadows (Trimble, 1989)."
Full Size Image Looking east across the Reese River Valley.  

Locations: Austin.  

Austin

Three motels, three restaurants (Carol's Country Kitchen was good).
     

Austin Summit

At Austin Summit, 5 miles east of Austin, elevation 7,484 feet, take the dirt road south, past fenced off spring to summit, local resident noted that the road remains good as it descends a canyon on the east side of the Toiyabe Range.
      One of the things that surprised me was that the central Nevada mountain ranges are bare above the Pinyon-Juniper belt. Not until we got to eastern Nevada did a Ponderosa Pine or Rocky Mountain White Fir zone appear above the Pinyons and Junipers. Why might this be?
  1. Are Ponderosa Pines or White Fir unable to survive on the central Nevada ranges?
  2. Conversely, did those species, or communities, never have the opportunity to migrate to the central Nevada ranges?
     

Scott Summit

Elevation, 7,267 feet.

Other Articles: Nevada Highway 378: 40000  

Junction: Nevada Highway 378, south to US Highway 6 near Tonopah.
Full Size Image Looking southwest, up at the Toiyabe Range, from US Highway 50.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 2-Jun-05

Locations: Toiyabe Range.  

 
Full Size Image North end of Big Smoky Valley from Hickison Summit.  

Locations: Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area. Big Smoky Valley.  

Big Smoky Valley

 
Full Size Image Looking south into the Big Smoky Valley from near Hickison Summit.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 2-Jun-05

Locations: Big Smoky Valley.  

Highway passes from Big Smoky Valley to Monitor Valley by way of Hickison Summit.
Full Size Image Petroglyphs at Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area. Full Size Image Sagebrush, Pinyon and Juniper at Hickison Summit  

Locations: Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area.  

Hickison Summit

Elevation 6,564 feet.
     

Monitor Valley

 

Literature Cited:
- Thomas, D. H., 1988. Full Size Image Looking east on U. S. Highway 50.    

 
     

Antelope Valley

 
     

Lone Mountain

 
      This small white mountain, north of the highway, appears to be vegetated by Junipers, with few Pinyons. A few small roads approach the mountain from the south. There are many roads on the east side.
     

Diamond Mountains

 

Literature Cited:
- Grayson, D. K., and S. D. Livingston, 1993.    

 

Other Articles: Nevada Highway 278: 90000  

Junction: Nevada Highway 278.
Full 
Size Image Ruby Hill, in the Eureka Mining District.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 2-Jun-05

Locations: Ruby Hill.  

View of Ruby Hill, the Eureka Mining district and the northern end of the Fish Creek Mountains.

Literature Cited:
- Anonymous, n.d.. Full Size Image Eureka County Courthouse Full Size Image Eureka Museum, formerly Eureka Sentinel newspaper. Full Size Image Eureka Hotel and Opera House  

Locations: Eureka.  

Eureka

Quaint little town.
      Junction:
  • East Clark Street
  • West Clark Street

Literature Cited:
- Post, Douglas M., 1956.

Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: at Adams Hill West Bateman Street: at Main St East Bateman Street: at Main St

Locations: Adams Hill.  

Junction:
  • East Bateman Street
  • West Bateman Street, west via Ruby Hill, Holly Road, and Spring Valley Road, to Adams Hill, where Percy Train collected Swertia albomarginata.

Other Articles: Windfall Mine Road: at US Hwy 50

Locations: Windfall Canyon.  

Junction: Windfall Mine Road

Windfall Canyon and the Windfall Mine to the southwest.

This is also the north end of the road through Secret Canyon.

Literature Cited:
- Post, Douglas M., 1956.

Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: at Pinto Summit

Locations: Pinto Summit.  

Pinto Summit

Elevation: 7,376 feet.

Literature Cited:
- Kartesz, John Thomas, 1988.

Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: at Pinto Summit

Locations: Pinto Canyon.  

Pinto Canyon

Kartesz (1988) states that Swertia albomarginata is found in Pinto Canyon. However, I haven't found any collections.

Other Articles: Nevada State Route 379: at US Hwy 50

Locations: Secret Canyon.  

Junction: Nevada Highway 379, turn here for Secret Canyon.

Other Articles: NV Hwy 892: 90000  

Junction: Nevada Highway 892, north through Newark Valley to a dirt road that leads eventually to Elko.
     

Pancake Summit

Elevation: 6,517 feet.

Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: near Belmont Mill  

Junction: Road south to Belmont Mill.

Swertia albomarginata has been collected along this road 2.3 miles south of US Highway 50.

Full Size Image Looking west across Newark Valley to the Diamond Mountains from the White Pine Range.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 2-Jun-05  

West slope, White Pine Range

Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: near Little Antelope Summit

Locations: Antelope Mountain. Little Antelope Summit.  

Little Antelope Summit

Elevation: 7,433 feet.

Antelope Mountain is north of Little Antelope Summit.

H. D. Ripley collected Swertia albomarginata near here, collection at CAS.

Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: at Antelope Mtn  

Junction: Road North Into Long Valley, about 1 mile east of Little Antelope Summit.

There is a collection of Swertia albomarginata from a location about 2 1/2 miles north on this road.

Other Articles: County Road 11: at US Hwy 50  

Junction: County Route 11, NF 401, Green Spring Road, this road also gives access to Illipah Reservoir, and Forest Road 400.

Literature Cited:
- Kartesz, John Thomas, 1988.

Other Articles: Long Valley Road: at US Hwy 50  

Junction: White Pine County Route 3 "Long Valley Road", north through Long Valley to the Ruby Valley.

Kartesz (1988) states that Swertia albomarginata is found in Long Valley.

 

Locations: Butte Mountains. Jakey Valley.  

Jakey Valley

The Butte Mountains form the north end of Jakey Valley.
Full Size Image Looking west across Jakey Valley to the White Pine Mountains.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 2-Jun-05  

West slope, Egan Range

Other Articles: Route 17: at US Hwy 50  

Junction: Route 17, "Thirty Mile Road', gives access to the Butte Mountains, Butte Valley, and Long Valley via Long Valley Canyon.
     

Robinson Summit

Elevation: 7,607 feet.
Full 
Size Image The Deep Ruth Shaft in the Robinson Mining District, near Ely, Nevada. Full Size Image The Liberty Pit of the Robinson Mining District, near Ely, Nevada.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 2-Jun-05 Swertia albomarginata: near Keystone Nevada State Route 44: at US Hwy 50

Locations: Keystone. Robinson Mining District.  

Keystone Junction

Junction: Nevada State Route 44, west into the Robinson Mining District.

The first mine discovered in the Robinson Mining District, was the Elijah, near Lane City. The famed open-pit copper mines of Eastern Nevada including the Liberty Pit, largest in the state, are located in this mining district. Through the first half of the 20th century, this area produced nearly a billion dollars in copper, gold and silver. The huge mounds visible from here are waste rock which was removed to uncover the ore. Lane City, originally called Mineral City, was settled in 1869 and had a population of 400. At Mineral City was the Ragsdale Station--a hotel and a stage station.

There is a collection of Swertia albomarginata from Keystone.

Full 
Size Image Robinson Canyon, east of Ely, Nevada.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 2-Jun-05

Locations: Gleason Creek. Robinson Canyon.  

West of Ely, Nevada, US Highway 50 climbs up through Robinson Canyon to the mining area at Ruth.

Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: in vicinity of Ely U. S. Highway 6: in Ely U. S. Highway 93: at US Hwy 50

Locations: Ely.  

Ely

Junction:
  • U. S. Highway 6, West.
  • U. S. Highway 93, North.

    Larger town, stock up here. Ely receives 73% of the sunshine possible at its latitude.

    There is a collection of Swertia albomarginata from the vicinity of Ely.

Other Articles: Cave Valley Road: at US Hwy 50  

Junction: Cave Valley Road, south between the Schell Creek Range and the Egan Range into Cave Valley.

Other Articles: Nevada State Route 486: at US Hwy 50  

Junction: Nevada State Route 486, east to Cave Valley Lake and then north.
     

Schell Creek Range

 

Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: on Connors Pass

Locations: Connors Pass.  

Connors Pass

Elevation: 7,723 feet.

There is a collection of Swertia albomarginata from Connors Pass.

Full Size Image Looking east at the Snake Range from the Schell Creek Range.

Other Articles: Field Notes: 20050601120

Locations: Snake Range.  

 
 

Other Articles: U. S. Highway 93: at US Hwy 50  

Junction: U. S. Highway 93, South, through Pioche, Caliente, and Alamo to Las Vegas.
      Consider the dirt road through Osceola.
     

Sacramento Pass

Elevation: 7,154 feet.
 

Other Articles: U. S. Highway 6: between Delta and Ely  

Other Articles: NV Highway 487: 10000  

Junction: Nevada Highway 487, south to Baker and Great Basin National Park.

Literature Cited:
- Miller, Elizabeth L., Phillip B. Gans, and Jeffrey Lee, 1987.    

Great Basin National Park is 11 miles off of U. S. Hwy 50 on Nevada Highways 487 and 488.

To the north is the northern Snake Range. See: Miller, Gans, and Lee's (1987) discussion of the Snake Range decollement.

      Nevada above …
Utah below …

Other Articles: Ferguson Desert Road: at US Hwy 6/50  

Junction: Ferguson Desert Road, south through the Ferguson Desert to Utah Highway 21.
     

Sevier Desert

Here we noticed the large ant hills …

Literature Cited:
- Hart, William S., Jay Quade, David B. Madsen, Darrell S. Kaufman, and Charles G. Oviatt., 2004.  

Locations: Sevier Lake.  

Sevier Lake

Once a part of Lake Bonneville, Sevier Lake occupies the largest southern basin of that huge Pleistocene Lake. The Sevier River dominates the hydrological budget of Sevier Lake.
     

Hinckley

 
     

Delta

 
      West of Holden along U. S. Hwy 50 are numerous stabilized sand dunes, known as the "Little Sahara Dunes, rise to impressive stature.
     

Holden

 

Other Articles: Interstate 15: 24000  

Junction: U. S. Interstate 15, South., south to Cedar City and Saint George.

Other Articles: Interstate 15: 22000  

Junction: U. S. Interstate 15, North, north to Provo and Salt Lake City.
     

Scipio

 
      Junction: UT Hwy 28

Other Articles: U. S. Hwy 89: somewhere in Flagstaff  

Junction: US Highway 89, South, in the western part of Salina.
     

Salina

 

Other Articles: Interstate 70: 119400  

Junction: U. S. Interstate 70

Literature Cited:
- Leonard, Eric M., et al., 2002.    

Salida, CO

 
   

Literature Cited

  A list of all literature cited by this web site can be found in the Bibliography.
 
Anonymous. n.d.. Self-Guiding Tour of Eureka, Nevada. Obtained at the Eureka Museum.

Location records referred to by this literature:

  • Eureka, Eureka County, Nevada.
 
Caskey, S. John, John W. Bell, and D. Burton Slemmons. 2000. Historical surface faulting and paleoseismology of the central Nevada seismic belt. pp. 23-44 in Lageson, David R., Stephen G. Peters, and Mary M. Lahren. Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. GSA Field Guide Series. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America, 2000. ...

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
Criswell, D. R., J. F. Lindsay, and D. L. Reasoner. 1975. Seismic and acoustic emissions of a booming dune. Journal of Geophysical Research. 80(35):4963-4974. Washington DC: American Geophysical Union, December 10, 1975. {TAS}

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
Grayson, D. K., and S. D. Livingston. 1993. Missing mammals on great basin mountains: Holocene extinctions and inadequate knowledge. Conservation Biology. 7(3):527-532. Seattle, WA 98195, USA: Burke Museum, Univ. Washington.
 
Hart, William S., Jay Quade, David B. Madsen, Darrell S. Kaufman, and Charles G. Oviatt. 2004. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of lacustrine carbonates and lake-level history of the Bonneville paleolake system. GSA Bulletin. 116(9/10):1107-1119.

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
Kartesz, John Thomas. 1988. A flora of Nevada. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Nevada, Reno, 1988..

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
Leonard, Eric M., et al. 2002. High Plains to Rio Grande Rift: Late Cenozoic Evolution of Central Colorado. Field Trip Guide for 2002 Denver Annual Meeting (October 27-30, 2002).
 
Miller, Elizabeth L., Phillip B. Gans, and Jeffrey Lee. 1987. The Snake Range decollement, eastern Nevada. pp. 77-82 in Hill, Mason L., editor. Centennial field guide.
 
Pavlik, Bruce Michael. 1985. Sand dune flora of the Great Basin and Mojave deserts of California, Nevada, and Oregon. Madroño. 32(4):197-213. {TAS}

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
Post, Douglas M. 1956. Studies in the Gentianaceae: Frasera and Swertia of North America. Ph.D. dissertation. University of California, Berkeley. 1956..

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
Schweickert, Richard A, Mary M. Lahren, Robert Karlin, Jim Howle, and Ken Smith. 2000. Lake Tahoe active faults, landslides, and tsunamis. pp. 1-21 in Lageson, David R., Stephen G. Peters, and Mary M. Lahren. Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. GSA Field Guide Series. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America, 2000. ...

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
Slemmons, David B., and John W. Bell. 1987. 1954 Fairview Peak earthquake area, Nevada. pp. 73-76 in Hill, Mason L., editor. Centennial field guide.
 
Thomas, D. H. 1988. The archaeology of Monitor Valley [Nevada, USA]: 3. Survey and additional excavations. Anthropological Papers Of The American Museum Of Natural History. 66(2):131-633. New York, N.Y.: Department Anthropol., American Museum Natural History.
 
Trexler, Dennis T., and Wilton N. Melhorn. 1986. Singing and booming land dunes of California and Nevada. California Geology. 39(7):147-152. San Francisco, CA: California Division of Mines and Geology, July 1986. {TAS}

Location records referred to by this literature:

 
Trimble, Stephen. 1989. The Sagebrush Ocean. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press. {TAS}

Location records referred to by this literature:

If you have a question or a comment you may write to me at: tas4@schweich.com I sometimes post interesting questions in my FAQ, but I never disclose your full name or address.  


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Date and time this article was prepared: 5/8/2008 9:43:15 AM