Eldorado Mountains

---

title: "Eldorado Mountains" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lake-mead-national-recreation-area", "mountain-ranges-of-nevada", "mountain-ranges-of-the-mojave-desert", "mountain-ranges-of-the-lower-colorado-river-valley", "eldorado-valley", "mountain-ranges-of-clark-county,-nevada"] description: "Mountain range in Nevada, US" topic_path: "general/lake-mead-national-recreation-area" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldorado_Mountains" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain range in Nevada, US ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Eldorado Mountains
other_name	El Dorado Mountains
photo	Willow_Beach_(8199389901).jpg
photo_size	320px
photo_caption	(view of east flank, north)
From the Colorado River, downstream from Willow Beach, Lake Mohave.
Nevada is at right, and the prominence, forward. Arizona's (Black Mountains (Arizona) is on left bank. The view is downstream & slightly west-southwestwards.
country	United States
state	Nevada
district	Clark County
topo_map	Boulder City SE
topo_maker	USGS
range_coordinates
length_mi
width_mi
highest	Ireteba Peak
highest_location	Eldorado Mountains
elevation_note
elevation_ft	5060
image_map
map_caption	Eldorado Mountains in Nevada
::

| name = Eldorado Mountains | native_name = | other_name = El Dorado Mountains | etymology = | photo = Willow_Beach_(8199389901).jpg | photo_size = 320px | photo_caption = (view of east flank, north) From the Colorado River, downstream from Willow Beach, Lake Mohave. Nevada is at right, and the prominence, forward. Arizona's (Black Mountains (Arizona) is on left bank. The view is downstream & slightly west-southwestwards. | country = United States | state = Nevada | region = | district = Clark County | topo_map = Boulder City SE | topo_maker = USGS | border = | range_coordinates = | length_mi = | length_orientation = | width_mi = | width_orientation = | area_mi2 = | geology = | orogeny = | period = | highest = Ireteba Peak | highest_location = Eldorado Mountains | elevation_note = | elevation_ft=5060 | coordinates = | image_map = | map_caption = Eldorado Mountains in Nevada The Eldorado Mountains, also called the El Dorado Mountains, are a north-south trending mountain range in southeast Nevada bordering west of the south-flowing Colorado River; the endorheic Eldorado Valley borders the range to the west, and the range is also on the western border of the Colorado River's Black Canyon of the Colorado, and El Dorado Canyon on the river. The range is 50 mi southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada; and the Eldorado Mountains connect with the Highland and Newberry mountains.

The name El Dorado is taken from the name of a legendary gold mine, and the ghost town-mining location of Nelson in Nelson Canyon, transects the central portion of the range. The Nelson Overlook is a viewing point over the Colorado River's El Dorado Canyon.

Wilderness

The mountain range contains the Eldorado Wilderness of 320060 acre. Established in 2004, the area is jointly managed by the NPS and the BLM. The NPS manages the eastern section within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the BLM manages the western section.

This desert wilderness is a rugged maze of hills, peaks, and winding canyons. The Eldorado Range is volcanic rock with basalt flows on a base of metamorphic rock. A bajada extends northwest of the mountains. Creosote bush, scrub oak, clump grass, and various cacti cover the mountains and foothills. This supports a significant population of bighorn sheep in the higher elevations. Abandoned mine sites are scattered among the region. Water is scarce, besides the Colorado River, and summer temperatures can reach 120 °F (48 °C).

To the south, Ireteba Peaks Wilderness of 32745 acre is composed of the Ireteba Ridge at 5013 ft, that overlooks to the east, the northern portions of Lake Mohave and the El Dorado Canyon. The high point of the Eldorado Mountains is Ireteba Peak at 5060 ft, which is named for the Mohave Indian guide and tribal leader Irataba.

Some communities associated with the range, are in the south, Searchlight on US 95 and Cottonwood Cove, on the river. Nelson is in the center of the range, and the nearest community north is Boulder City.

References

References

1. Nevada Atlas & Gazetteer, Delorme, c. 2010, p. 72.
2. {{cite gnis
3. (6 April 2010). "Defining population structure for the Mojave desert tortoise". Conservation Genetics.
4. [https://wilderness.net/visit-wilderness/?ID=175 Eldorado Wilderness] – Wilderness Connect
5. [https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/uploads/Programs_NationalConservationLands_WildernessAreas_NV_Eldorado%20Wilderness%20Fact%20Sheet%20Web%20Opt.pdf Eldorado Wilderness Fact Sheet] – BLM
6. {{cite gnis

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::