Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

This article is about the National Conservation Area in Nevada. For other uses, see Red Rock Canyon.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada is a 197,000 acre area managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and protected as a National Conservation Area. It is located about 12 mi (20 km) west of Las Vegas, and easily seen from the Las Vegas Strip.

The conservation area showcases a set of large red sandstone peaks and walls called the Keystone Thrust. The walls are up to 3,000 ft (1,000 m) high, making them a popular hiking and rock climbing destination. The highest point is Bridge Mountain.

A one-way loop road, 13 miles (21 km) long, provides vehicle access to many of the features in the canyon. Several side roads and parking areas allow access to many of the trails located in the canyon. A visitor center is located at the start of the loop road. The loop road is very popular for bicycle touring; it begins with a moderate climb, then is mostly downhill or flat.

The Howard Hughes Corporation, developer of Summerlin, Nevada, has transferred land adjacent to the protected area, to provide a buffer between development and the canyon. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is protected on the west side by the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.

Red Rock Canyon itself is a side-canyon accessible only by four-wheel-drive road off of the scenic loop. The unnamed but often visited valley cut through by State Route 159 is commonly, but incorrectly, referred to as Red Rock Canyon. The massive, 3,000ft high Wilson Cliffs can be seen to the west along this highway.

Natural history

The canyon is one of the easternmost parts of the Mojave Desert; the bottom of the canyon, from 3,600 to 4,500 ft (1,100 to 1,400 m), is in the Lower Sonoran Zone, while the area from 4,500 ft (1,400 m) up is in the Upper Sonoran Zone. The character of the sandstone layers is such that a number of year-round springs may be found in the recesses of the side canyons.

Some 600 species of plants are known in the area; common types in the canyon bottom include the Joshua tree, Mojave yucca, banana yucca, creosote, and blackbrush. Higher up the Utah juniper and scrub live oak come to dominate, and ponderosa pines may be found at the top of the canyon, where it connects to the Spring Mountains.

Wild burros are a familiar sight, as are rabbits and ground squirrels.

The Conservation Area is protected habitat for the Desert Tortoise. A mascot Tortoise, named Mojave Max, is kept at the Visitors Center.

Rock climbing

Despite the Yosemite-size walls offering a host of challenging lines, technical climbing activity is not known from before 1968. Las Vegas resident Joe Herbst was a key early explorer of the walls, and made many first ascents. Later Jorge and Joanne Urioste put up a number of long hard routes, and Joanne wrote a first climber's guidebook.

The rock is Aztec Sandstone, a very hard variety with a consistent solidity; many climbs feature ascents of a single parallel-sided crack hundreds of feet long.

Rock art

As many as six different Native American cultures may have been present in Red Rock Canyon over the millennia. The following chronology is an approximation:

Southern Paiute 900 A.D. to modern times
Patayan Culture 900 A.D. to early historic times in the 1800s
Anasazi 1 A.D. to 1150 A.D.
Pinto/Gypsum (Archaic) 3,500 B.C. to 1 A.D.
San Dieguito 7,000 to 5,500 B.C.
Paleo-Indians (Tule Springs) 11,000 to 8,000 B.C.

Numerous petroglyphs remain today.

Wildfire history

Wildfires in Red Rock, especially those in the loop area, allow visitors to see both the damage caused by these events as well as the ability of the desert to heal itself over time.

1998 loop area. By 2003 regrowth made it difficult to find the burn area.
June 25, 2005 the Goodsprings fire at over 31,600 acres (128 km²), burned into Red Rock.
July 22, 2005 lighting caused 800 acre (3 km²) fire in the loop area.

References

Joanne Urioste, The Red Rocks of Southern Nevada (American Alpine Club, 1984)
Larry L. Clinesmith and Elsie L. Sellars, Red Rock Canyon Plants (Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association, 2001)

External links

Canyons and gorges of Nevada | Clark County, Nevada | Climbing areas | Cycling | Protected areas of the Mojave Desert