Arrow Canyon Wilderness

Arrow Canyon Wilderness is an intriguing landscape with distinct and eye-catching landforms, including the Arrow Canyon Range, one of the most scenic ranges in southern Nevada. The western face of the range is a spectacular cliff marked with dramatic bands of quartzite and limestone arching across its length. The central portion is a wide valley cut by numerous washes, and the northeast section showcases Arrow Canyon itself — several miles long and confined by sheer walls so tall and close together that sunlight rarely reaches the bottom in winter. Pahranagat Wash runs along the northern edge and flows through the canyon. Table Mountain, a small mesa top east of the wash, is adjacent to but separate from the rest of the Wilderness. The range is a fault scarp rising roughly 2,800 feet off the valley floor. Composed of limestone, it shows a striking dark carbon layer along the western cliff face, and fossils — crinoids, brachiopods, corals and other sea life — are found in the gray limestone. Elevations range from 2,000 to 5,200 feet. This is Mojave Desert scrub: creosote bush, white bursage, Mojave yucca, and barrel cactus across the landscape, blackbrush and Joshua trees at higher elevations, honey mesquite, catclaw acacia and desert willow scattered through the washes. With a watchful eye you may spot desert bighorn sheep, coyotes, kit foxes, ringtail cats, bobcats, kangaroo rats, side-blotched lizards, banded geckos, and the slow-moving desert tortoise. Golden eagles, great horned owls, black-tailed gnatcatchers, loggerhead shrikes and Say's phoebes work the washes and ridges. Beware of rattlesnakes among the rocks and in shaded areas. Silence along the rugged ridges and peaks becomes more apparent the deeper you venture. Infrequent visitor use and the need for route-finding skills make for great opportunities for solitude, hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing, hunting, exploring, and camping under the night sky.