Muddy Mountain Wilderness Map

Muddy Mountains Wilderness Management Plan

48,019 acres

Note: The Las Vegas Field Office, in collaboration with the National Park Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, is currently preparing a Wilderness Plan for the Muddy Mountains Wilderness Area.

Location:  20 miles northeast of Las Vegas

Terrain: The Muddy Mountains consists of rugged limestone cliffs and canyons. Bitter Spring Valley, Bitter Ridge, Gale Hills and Hidden Valley are other major landform features.

Habitat Type: Creosote bush scrub with low-desert shrubs and grasses, including blackbrush, yucca, Joshua trees and desert willow.

 Special Features:

• The area contains outstanding geologic features. Bitter Ridge provides a classic example of block faulting. Anniversary Narrows is dramatic and graphic example of the erosional forces of wind and water. Hidden Valley features a window through overthrust rock that exposes the underlying rock.

• Numerous archaeological resources occur in the area. The area has been identified as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

• Bighorn sheep and wild horses and burros inhabit the area.

• Reptiles found in the area include Western chuckwalla, desert banded gecko, side-blotched lizard, Great Basin collared lizard, and Great Basin whiptail.