Nature
El Paso Mountains Wilderness is a protected area in the northern Mojave Desert of eastern Kern County, California, created in 1994 and managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Spanning 23,780 acres south of Ridgecrest, it is marked by reddish buttes, volcanic mesas, narrow canyons, and badlands centered on Black Mountain, an extinct volcano rising to 5,244 feet. The wilderness is also important for its cultural resources, with its southern section within the Last Chance Archaeological District on the National Register of Historic Places. Its desert habitat supports raptors, the Mohave ground squirrel, the desert tortoise, creosote bush scrub, and Joshua trees on the mountain’s western side.
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California · United States