Desatoya Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Desatoya Mountains are located in central Nevada
in the western United States
, approximately 117 miles east of Reno
by road. The range runs in a southwest-northeasterly direction along the border of Churchill and Lander Counties, reaching a maximum elevation of 9,973 feet (3040 m) at Desatoya Peak near Rock Creek Canyon.
in the south by Burnt Cabin Summit at the Nye County
line, near the sites of Chalk Wells & Phonolite, and from the New Pass Range
in the north by New Pass along U.S. Highway 50. It is traversed by three routes:
and etymology
of the name Desatoya is unclear: whereas ...'toya' derives from the Shoshone word toyap (mountain), 'desa'... has been multifariously interpreted as 'short, low,' 'big-black,' and 'cold.'
Early doccuments record the range's name variously as the Lookout Range or the Sedaye Mountains, sedaye purportedly being an Indian word meaning 'no good.'
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...
in the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, approximately 117 miles east of Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
by road. The range runs in a southwest-northeasterly direction along the border of Churchill and Lander Counties, reaching a maximum elevation of 9,973 feet (3040 m) at Desatoya Peak near Rock Creek Canyon.
Geography
The range is separated from the Paradise RangeParadise Range
The Paradise Range is a mountain range in Nye County, Nevada....
in the south by Burnt Cabin Summit at the Nye County
Nye County, Nevada
-National protected areas:* Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Death Valley National Park * Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest * Spring Mountains National Recreation Area -Demographics:...
line, near the sites of Chalk Wells & Phonolite, and from the New Pass Range
New Pass Range
The New Pass Range is a mountain range in Lander County, Nevada....
in the north by New Pass along U.S. Highway 50. It is traversed by three routes:
Trans Mountain Navigation
- The Old Overland Road between Smith Creek Valley and Edwards Creek Valley crosses the northern end of the range by way of Basque Summit at an elevation of 7,625 feet following the Pony ExpressPony ExpressThe Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
route.
- Nevada State Highway 722 crosses the range to the south by way of Carroll Summit at an elevation of 7,425 feet.
- The third route splits off of Highway 722 approximately three miles east of EastgateEastgate, NevadaEastgate is an unincorporated community located within Churchill County, Nevada, United States. It is located on the Lincoln Highway. The community's elevation is . Other alternate unofficial names include East Gate, Eastgate Station, and Gibralter Gate....
, heading southeast along Buffalo Creek, and crosses the range over Buffalo Summit (south of Carroll Summit) at an elevation of 7,021 feet. This road eventually reaches the former Nye county seat of IoneIone, NevadaIone, Nevada is an unincorporated community in Nye County, Nevada, located approximately 23 miles east of Gabbs, Nevada. Current services include one grocery store....
by way of Phonolite.
History
The Desatoya Mountains set the backdrop for both the Cold Springs and Smith Creek Pony Express stations; the Cold Springs Pony Express Station and the Pony Express National Historic Trail lie at the western edge of the range, whereas the Smith Creek Pony Express Station is situated at the eastern base on the edge of Smith Creek Valley.The Etymology of the Name Desatoya
The precise morphologyMorphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
and etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
of the name Desatoya is unclear: whereas ...'toya' derives from the Shoshone word toyap (mountain), 'desa'... has been multifariously interpreted as 'short, low,' 'big-black,' and 'cold.'
Early doccuments record the range's name variously as the Lookout Range or the Sedaye Mountains, sedaye purportedly being an Indian word meaning 'no good.'