The Ruby Mountains comprise one of the many mountain ranges of the Great Basin in the western United States. They are the most prominent range in Elko County, in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada. To the north is Secret Pass and the East Humboldt Range, and from there the Rubies run south-southwest for about 80 miles (130 km). To the east lies Ruby Valley, and to the west lie Huntington and Lamoille Valleys. The highest peak is Ruby Dome 11,387 feet (3,471 m), located at 40°37.3'N and 115°28.5'W in the central core of the range, about 21 mi (34 km) southeast of the community of Elko.
The 'Rubies' were named after the garnets found by early explorers. The central core of the range shows extensive evidence of glaciation during recent ice ages, including U-shaped canyons, moraines, hanging valleys, and steeply carved granite mountains, cliffs, and cirques. All of these features can be seen from the 12-mile paved National Forest Scenic Byway up Lamoille Canyon, which enters the range near the town of Lamoille.
Read more about Ruby Mountains: Major Features, Ecology, Geology, Wilderness Area
Famous quotes containing the words ruby and/or mountains:
“Thy great leaves enfold
The ancient beards, the helms of ruby and gold
Of the crowned Magi; and the king whose eyes
Saw the Pierced Hands and Rood of elder rise
In Druid vapour and make the torches dim....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“It is true that genius takes its rise out of the mountains of rectitude; that all beauty and power which men covet are somehow born out of that Alpine district; that any extraordinary degree of beauty in man or woman involves a moral charm.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)