Sunrise Mountain stands east of Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada, as part of the eastern Las Vegas Valley landscape, but its identity has long been confused with nearby Frenchman Mountain, a higher peak several miles to the south-southeast. Many valley residents use the name Sunrise Mountain for Frenchman Mountain because the sun appears to rise behind it, a misunderstanding reinforced by a 1947 National Geodetic Survey benchmark on Frenchman Mountain labeled “Sunrise.” The area also reflects wartime history: during World War II, the U.S. Army operated an airway beacon on Frenchman Mountain. More recently, conservationists have sought national monument protection for this area along with Gypsum Cave and Frenchman Mountain.