Biological Diversity
The Spring Mountains are a sky island ecosystem. With an area of about 860 square miles (2,200 km2), and a vertical range of nearly 2 miles (3.2 km), the mountains encompass a wide variety of habitats, and the biological diversity is probably greater than anywhere else in Nevada. 37 species of trees are known (more than any other Nevadan range), and 600 species of vascular plants have been reported from the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area alone.
The bases of the mountains are part of the Mojave Zone dominated by creosote bush and white bursage, then rising to a Blackbrush Zone, followed by a Pygmy Conifer Zone with juniper, pinyon pine and mountain-mahogany, and topped by a montane zone with many species of conifers around Mt. Charleston and its connecting ridges.
| Preceded by –SOUTH–SSE– (north)-Ivanpah Valley (Roach Lake) |
Spring Mountains _____ Great Basin Divide |
Succeeded by –NORTH– Las Vegas Valley _____ (upland) Las-Vegas-Wash |
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Famous quotes containing the words biological and/or diversity:
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—The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, the first sentence of the article on “life” (based on wording in the First Edition, 1935)
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