The Clark Mountain Range is located in southeastern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, north of Interstate 15

Interstate 15 in California

In the U.S. state of California, Interstate 15 is a major north–south route through the San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego Counties, and it has a length of in the state. It is a major thoroughfare for traffic between Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as points beyond...

 and the community of Mountain Pass. The range stretches approximately 15 miles (24 km) in a southwest-northeasterly direction, beginning in the Mojave National Preserve

Mojave National Preserve

Mojave National Preserve is located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31, 1994 with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act by the US Congress...

, and ending near Stateline Pass, about one mile (1.6 km) from the Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

 border. Clark Mountain

Clark Mountain (California)

Clark Mountain is a mountain located in the Clark Mountain Range in the Mojave National Preserve, close to the California-Nevada border.-Geography:...

, at 7,929 feet (2,417 m) above sea level, is the principal peak of the range.

The foothills of the range are in creosote

Creosote

Creosote is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of a tar that remains heavier than water, notably useful for its anti-septic and preservative properties...

 scrub and Joshua tree forests, which adjoin the dense Joshua tree woodlands atop Cima Dome. Higher up, pinyon pine

Pinyon pine

The pinyon pine group grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The trees yield edible pinyon nuts, which were a staple of the Native Americans, and are still widely eaten...

 and juniper

Juniper

Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...

 grow on the "sky island

Sky island

Sky islands are mountains that are isolated by surrounding lowlands of a dramatically different environment, a situation which, in combination with the altitudinal zonation of ecosystems, has significant implications for natural habitats. Endemism, vertical migration, and relict populations are...

" which occasional rains create above 6,000 feet (1,800 m). The north side of the crest contains a small forest of white fir

White Fir

White Fir is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at altitudes of 900-3,400 m. It is a medium to large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 25–60 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m . It is popular as an ornamental landscaping tree and as a Christmas Tree...

 trees, which is extremely difficult to reach. Clark Mountain is one of three mountain areas where these rare trees persist; Kingston and New York Mountains

New York Mountains

The New York Mountains are found in northeastern San Bernardino County in California, USA; the range's northeast lies in southeast Nevada. The range lies just south of the small community of Ivanpah, and north of the Lanfair Valley. The mountains are part of the mountain ranges, cones, mountains,...

 are the other two areas where the Rocky Mountain white fir—Abies concolor can be found in California.

Interstate 15

Interstate 15

Interstate 15 is the fourth-longest north–south Interstate Highway in the United States, traveling through the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana from San Diego to the Canadian border...

 traverses the mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 between the Clark Range and the Mescal Range

Mescal Range

The Mescal Range is a small mountain range in the eastern Mojave Desert in California about 12 miles from the Nevada state line.The range lies just to the south of Interstate 15 near Mountain Pass, north of the Ivanpah Mountains. The mountains are approximately six miles long, and contain the...

 to the south. The small town of Mountain Pass

Mountain Pass, California

Mountain Pass is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is situated on Interstate 15 in the southeast mountainous desert region of the state approximately from the Nevada border at an elevation of - the highest point along I-15 between California and...

 is located just south of the range on the north side of I-15. The Mountain Pass rare earth mine

Mountain Pass rare earth mine

The Mountain Pass rare earth mine is an open-pit mine of rare earth elements on the south flank of the Clark Mountain Range and just north of the unincorporated community of Mountain Pass, California, United States. The mine, owned by Molycorp Inc., once supplied most of the world's rare earth...

 owned by Molycorp Minerals is a recently reactivated rare earth element

Rare earth element

As defined by IUPAC, rare earth elements or rare earth metals are a set of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table, specifically the fifteen lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium...

mine on the southern flank of the mountain. A major mine expansion project is slated to begin in January 2011.

The range contains Keany Pass and the Umberei Mine.