Clark Mountain is a mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 located in the Clark Mountain Range

Clark Mountain Range

The Clark Mountain Range is located in southeastern California, north of Interstate 15 and the community of Mountain Pass. The range stretches approximately 15 miles in a southwest-northeasterly direction, beginning in the Mojave National Preserve, and ending near Stateline Pass, about one mile ...

 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...

, close to the 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...

-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.

Geography

The mountain rises abruptly north of Mountain Pass and 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...

 to an elevation of 7933 ft (2,418 m), which is the highest point of 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 the 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...

 ranges.

Path 46

Path 46

Path 46, also called West of Colorado River, Arizona-California West-of-the-River Path , is a set of many alternating current high-voltage transmission lines that are located in southeast California and Nevada up to the Colorado River...

 and Path 64

Path 64

Path 64 or the Marketplace - Adelanto line is a very long 500-kilovolt power line that runs from the Adelanto substation close to Adelanto, California and the High Desert all the way to the Marketplace substation in Nevada. Although the line is called Path 64, the 500 kV wire is actually one part...

 (part of Path 46) 500 kV power lines run to the north and south of the mountain, respectively.

Ecology

The higher elevations of the mountain are a striking 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...

 contrast to the lower elevations of the Mojave Desert vegetation

Vegetation

Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...

. Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), scrub and Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) forests grow on the foothills of the mountain while Single-leaf Pinyon Pine

Single-leaf Pinyon

The Single-leaf Pinyon, ', is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to the United States and northwest Mexico. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and southern California and northern Baja California.It occurs at moderate altitudes from...

 (Pinus monophylla), Utah juniper

Juniperus osteosperma

Juniperus osteosperma is a shrub or small tree reaching 3-6 m tall. It is native to the southwestern United States, in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern Idaho and eastern California...

 (Juniperus osteosperma), and White fir (Abies concolor) grow on the sky island at the highest elevations.

The high elevation of the mountain means that snow falls on the high peaks during the winter, although the mountain receives little precipitation annually.

Recreation

Clark Mountain is also a world-class rock climbing

Rock climbing

Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...

area developed by Randy Leavitt in 1992. It has been described as containing the best limestone climbing in America.