Inventoried Land with Wilderness Character (LWC) in the Battle Mountain BLM District

Current LWC Status: Rejected

Acres: 61,069

State Region: West Central

County: Nye

Managing Agency: 

Bureau of Land Management

Battle Mountain District Office

50 Bastian Rd. Battle Mountain, NV 89820

(775) 635-4000

Battle Mountain District BLM Website 

Click on the Play button below to see the Goblin Knobs Flickr Gallery:

Area Description:

Goblin Knobs offers an outstanding diversity of natural landscapes, from the towering rhyolitic ridges and spires of Streuben and Goblin Knobs, to the basalt dykes, sills, and lava flows in the core of the unit to the cactus alluvial plains on the eastern side to the ash-formed volcanic Goblin Castle in the north.  Each of these landscape presents unique ecosystems that support ever-changing variations of the northern desert steppe vegetation that characterizes the region.  The area around the Goblin Knobs features supports juniper and cliffrose, extensive stands of cholla cacti follow the alluvial washes on the east side, and Mormon tea, native bunch grass and diminutive sagebrush characterize the volcanic tablelands.   Atriplex plant communities characterize the lowest elevations of the unit as it plunges into the surrounding valleys.  Sagebrush is the primary vegetation that ties the unit together, however, hidden treasures can be found throughout the unit including hedgehog and prickly pear varieties of cacti and many varieties of wild flowers.  The rare and endangered Astragalus callathrix, has been reported to be present in the unit.

 The numerous canyons, rock formations, tablelands, rims, dykes, volcanic necks, sills, towering knobs, scattered juniper, and plateaus provide an amazing diversity of outstanding opportunities for visitors to find secluded spots and to discover solitude.  The vast alluvial fan systems that comprise the west, north, and eastern boundaries of the unit provide an experience of solitude created by space alone.  The visitor who ventures into these areas will quickly vanish into the sheer scale of the unit. 

 The south-central portion of the unit supports an extensive juniper woodland that continues north to encircle the slopes of Streuben Knob.  This woodland provides outstanding opportunities for visitors to find seclusion in the company of these diminutive trees.  The heights of the volcanic highlands of the unit, reaching elevations of 7500 feet, allow the visitor to experience the outstanding opportunities of the solitude of eagles, with 360° views encompassing some of the most wild and scenic terrain in Nevada.   The Goblin Knobs portion of the unit is characterized by innumerable rock formation characterized by fantastic shapes.  The formations provide nearly an unlimited number of outstanding opportunities for visitors to lose themselves in the solitude these rocks create.  The basalt tablelands of the central core of the unit provide an outstanding experience of solitude so remote that it feels as if no human has ever passed through that area before.  The numerous canyons that carve into the unit from all sides furnish visitors with outstanding opportunities to find and enjoy solitude by following the rare traces of water that occasionally wind through the unit.  Silence is the most common sound heard within this unit.  

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