Pueblo Mountains Wilderness Study Area

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Hikes & Trails

Related Areas

Map Information

Wilderness Area Status

Wilderness Study Area
Year Designated:

Act or Law:
Acres: 600
State Region: Northwest Nevada
County Regions: Humboldt   

Management

Managing Agency: Bureau of Land Management
Local District: Winnemucca Field Office
Contact Info: (775) 623-1500
5100 East Winnemucca Boulevard  Winnemucca, NV89445
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Area Description

The Pueblo Mountains Wilderness Study Area includes the Pueblo Mountains ridgeline. This is a tilted fault block mountain range. Averaging 7,300 feet high along the crest, the eastern face of this ridge is steep, rugged and rocky, while much of the western slope is like a table top tilted to the west at nearly a 45-degree angle. Pueblo Mountain, at 8,634 feet, is the second highest peak in southeastern Oregon. The WSA is 15 miles long and 11 miles wide. Only a 600-acre portion is in Nevada; the remaining 72,000-acre portion is located in Oregon. A notable geologic feature is the Steens-Pueblo fault block.

The diverse landscape includes rugged ridges with steep escarpments, high-elevation basins and meadows, and deeply-cut drainages. This land is good for hiking, horseback riding, photography and upland game hunting.

This wild area is enclosed by rugged ridgelines with steep escarpments and deeply-incised drainages that are vegetated with quaking aspen, cottonwood, and Mormon tea.

See bighorn sheep, mule deer and antelope. Chukar, sage grouse and valley quail draw hunters. Whitehorse cutthroat trout were released in Van Horn Creek and Denio Creek and are now established in short sections of those creeks.

The Pueblo Mountain segment of the Desert Trail winds for 11 miles through the center of this WSA. It is part of the Oregon State Recreation Trails System.

Wildlife: