The Clipper Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Clipper Mountains

Clipper Mountains

The Clipper Mountains are located in the Mojave Desert of eastern San Bernardino County, California. The range parallels the central-southern border of the large Mojave National Preserve and is found just south of Interstate 40 and the Clipper Valley, between the freeway and the National Old Trails...

 within the eastern Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

, in northeastern San Bernardino County, California

San Bernardino County, California

San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...

. It is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

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Geography

The 33843 acres (13,695.8 ha) Clipper Mountain Wilderness is found mostly on the northern section of the Clipper Mountains

Clipper Mountains

The Clipper Mountains are located in the Mojave Desert of eastern San Bernardino County, California. The range parallels the central-southern border of the large Mojave National Preserve and is found just south of Interstate 40 and the Clipper Valley, between the freeway and the National Old Trails...

, which are adjacent on the north to Interstate 40

Interstate 40 in California

In the U.S. state of California, Interstate 40 has its western terminus in Barstow. Known as the Needles Freeway, a major east–west route of the Interstate Highway System, it heads east from Barstow across the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County past the Clipper Mountains to Needles,...

 and historic U.S. Route 66

U.S. Route 66 in California

In the U.S. state of California, U.S. Route 66 is a former U.S. highway. All the portions were deleted by 1964 during the 1964 renumbering.-History:U.S...

. The wilderness area is adjoining the southern National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

 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...

. It is 50 miles west of Needles, California

Needles, California

Needles is a city located in the Mojave Desert on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California. It is located in the Mohave Valley, which straddles the California–Arizona border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95...

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Description

The Clipper Mountain Wilderness has rugged yellow and dark brown, horizontally striped mesa

Mesa

A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....

s, narrow canyon

Canyon

A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...

s with spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

s, and sparsely vegetated alluvial fan

Alluvial fan

An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. A convergence of neighboring alluvial fans into a single apron of deposits against a slope is called a bajada, or compound alluvial...

s. The small cluster of volcanic mountains is oriented northeast to southwest. In the center, the most prominent ridge, Clipper Mountain, reaches an elevation of 4,625 feet before it dramatically drops off in series of sharp cliffs overlooking the Fenner and Clipper Valley

Clipper Valley

Clipper Valley is a vast, oval-shaped alluvial plain located in the eastern Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, California, in the south of the Mojave National Preserve...

s. Castle Dome, a local landmark, can be clearly seen from Historic Route 66.

Flora

See: Category: Flora of the California desert regions

The plant community vegetation types here are predominantly Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) xeric desert scrub

Deserts and xeric shrublands

Deserts and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture.-Definition and occurrence:...

 and desert wash

Arroyo (creek)

An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...

 scrub habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

s. In the spring, the alluvial fan

Alluvial fan

An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. A convergence of neighboring alluvial fans into a single apron of deposits against a slope is called a bajada, or compound alluvial...

s turn yellow with Brittlebush - Encelia farinosa

Encelia farinosa

Encelia farinosa, or Brittlebush, is a common desert shrub of northwestern Mexico through California and the southwestern United States. Its common name comes from the brittleness of its stems....

 and other desert wildflower

Wildflower

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...

s.

Fauna

See: Category: Fauna of the Mojave Desert

Wildlife in the wilderness area is typical for the Mojave Desert; including a herd of 40-50 Desert Bighorn Sheep

Desert Bighorn Sheep

The Desert Bighorn Sheep is a subspecies of Bighorn Sheep that occurs in the desert Southwest regions of the United States and in the northern regions of Mexico. The trinomial of this species commemorates the American naturalist Edward William Nelson...

, coyote

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

s, Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

The black-tailed jackrabbit , also known as the american desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level to up to...

s, Mohave ground squirrel

Mohave Ground Squirrel

The Mohave ground squirrel is a species of ground squirrel found only in the Mojave Desert in California. The squirrel was discovered in 1886 by Frank Stephens of San Diego The Mohave ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus mohavensis) is a species of ground squirrel found only in the Mojave Desert in...

s, Kangaroo rat

Kangaroo rat

Kangaroo rats, genus Dipodomys, are small rodents native to North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form: as they hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, although they are not related...

s, Greater Roadrunner

Greater Roadrunner

The Greater Roadrunner, taxonomically classified as Geococcyx californianus, meaning "Californian Earth-cuckoo," is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. Along with the Lesser Roadrunner, it is one of two species in the roadrunner genus Geococcyx...

s, Chucker, Quail

Quail

Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...

, Prairie falcon

Prairie Falcon

The Prairie Falcon is a medium-sized falcon of western North America.It is about the size of a Peregrine Falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm , wingspan of 1 metre , and weight of 720 g...

s, Red-tailed hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...

s, Golden eagle

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

s, rattlesnake

Rattlesnake

Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...

s, and several species of lizards including the Zebra-tailed lizard

Zebra-tailed lizard

Zebra-tailed lizards are a genus of phrynosomatid lizards endemic to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.-Habitat:...

. The entire wilderness is considered critical habitat for the threatened Desert Tortoise

Desert Tortoise

The desert tortoise is a species of tortoise native to the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. They can be located in western Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah. The species name agassizii is in honor of...

.