Introduction
The United States Congress designated the Worthington Mountains Wilderness (
map) in 2004 and it now has a total of
30,594 acres.
All of this wilderness is located in
Nevada and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Description
Worthington Mountain rises like a ship 4,000 rugged feet above dry valleys of central Nevada to almost 9,000 feet. The extremely severe limestone backbone of the mountain presents a difficult challenge to visitors with heavily dissected, maze-like canyons, precipitous cliffs, knifelike limestone surfaces, and no surface water. Those who persist will be rewarded by endless vistas, natural arches, 2,000 acres of ancient forest, (the oldest tree dated at 2,100 years), and limestone caves, the largest being Leviathan. Wildlife species inhabiting this wilderness area include mountain lions, bobcats, deer, desert bighorn sheep, kit foxes, coyotes and raptors, as well as smaller common mammal and reptile species. Forest cover in the mountains vary from sparse to dense stands of juniper and pinyon pine at lower elevations while ponderosa, limber and bristlecone pines cling to the jagged peaks. The Worthington Mountains feature a divergent flora from the curious combination Great Basin/Sonoran desert including cholla and cactus of the valley through pinyon - juniper, Limber and Ponderosa Pine, to the Bristlecone Pine of the craggy 9,000 foot summit ridge. No other Nevada area expresses the wilderness characteristics of stark beauty, chaotic topography, and remoteness quite as well as Worthington Mountains.
