The Snake Range is a mountain range in White Pine County, Nevada, United States. The south-central portion of the range is included within Great Basin National Park, with most of the remainder included within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The range reaches a maximum elevation of 13065 ft at the summit of Wheeler Peak, the tallest independent mountain within Nevada and the second highest point within the state (the highest point being Boundary Peak). The range also contains four of the five highest mountain peaks in Nevada, including all peaks greater than 12000 ft except for Boundary Peak.

Geography

Typical of other ranges in the Basin and Range Province, the Snake Range runs in a north–south direction, for approximately 60 mi. To the west are Spring Valley and the Schell Creek Range, and to the east across the Utah border are Snake Valley and the Confusion Range. Sacramento Pass (7154 ft) is where U.S. Route 6-50, the "Loneliest Highway in America", crosses the range. It is the principal means of eastbound access to this part of eastern Nevada.

Natural history

Great Basin National Park is located in the southern section of the Snake Range. Established in 1986, it protects the unique geologic and habitat features of the mountain range and Great Basin Desert, and their representations of the Central Basin and Range ecoregion. The southern section also includes the natural rock Lexington Arch (83 ft span), and the Lehman Caves, both formed from the range's limestone. Several large groves of ancient Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) trees thrive in the Great Basin montane forests of the range's higher elevations. The higher elevations of the Snake Range in the northern section are protected by the Mount Moriah Wilderness Area, and in the southern section by the Highland Ridge Wilderness.

Peaks

Southern

The Snake Range includes two groups of peaks. The southern section rises quickly from a point near the border with Lincoln County, reaching the summit of Granite Peak (11218 ft) just 10 mi to the north. From there northwards the range continues to rise, passing Lincoln Peak (11597 ft), Mt. Washington (11658 ft), Pyramid Peak (11926 ft), Baker Peak (12298 ft), and Doso Doyabi (12775 ft ). It finally reaches its apex at Wheeler Peak (13063 ft).

Northern

North of Wheeler Peak the range begins to drop, reaching 7154 ft at Sacramento Pass, just 11 mi to the north. Sacramento Pass is where the more remote northern section of the range begins. In just 12 mi the North Snake Range rises past Silver Creek Canyon and Hendrys Creek Canyon to the summit of photogenic Mt. Moriah (12067 ft). To the north of this peak is an unusual formation, a flat plateau of sub-alpine tundra called "The Table", covering about 2 sqmi at an elevation of 11000 ft. A grove of ancient Great Basin Bristlecone Pines grows on this plateau near the peak. North of "The Table" is another unusual geologic feature. Deadman Creek and Smith Creek, draining eastward into Snake Valley, combine to carve a deep canyon into the range. The mouth of this canyon lies below 3000 ft cliffs, 6000 ft below and 6 mi away from the summit of Mt. Moriah. The North Snake Range is an important geologic feature, containing some of the world's best examples of metamorphic rock and extensional deformation. The range has been designated as only the first 100 geoheritage sites by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Instead of normal faulting creating basins and ranges, like is seen throughout most of the Great Basin, the North Snake Range metamorphic core complex has undergone ductile deformation so that the metamorphic rocks have been stretched resulting in rocks that are 10% of their original thickness, stretching like taffy.