{{short description|Mountain range in California, United States}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Inyo Mountains | image = Owens.lake.arp.750pix.jpg | image_caption = Inyo Mountains from space | country = United States | subdivision1_type = States | subdivision1 = {{hlist|California|Nevada}} | parent = Basin and Range Province | borders_on = White Mountains, Sierra Nevada | range_coordinates = | length_mi = 70 | width_mi = 10 | highest = Waucoba Mountain<ref>{{cite gnis|id= 237364|name=Waucoba Mountain|access-date=2009-05-03}}</ref> | highest_location = ~18 mi (29&nbsp;km) southeast of Big Pine. | elevation_ft = 11123 | coordinates = {{coord|36|10|00|N|118|00|03|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | image_map = Wpdms shdrlfi020l inyo mountains.jpg | map_caption = }}

thumb|Inyo Mountain Wilderness thumb|Inyo Mountain crest, north of New York Butte

The '''Inyo Mountains''' are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California in the United States.<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis|id=266850|name=Inyo Mountains|access-date=2009-05-03}}</ref> The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately {{convert|70|mi}} south-southeast from the southern end of the White Mountains, from which they are separated by Westgard Pass, to the east of Owens Lake.

Geologically, the mountains are a fault block range in the Basin and Range Province, at the western end of the Great Basin. They are considered to be among the most important and best-known Late Proterozoic to Cambrian sections in the United States.<ref>[http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/cambrian/whites.html Localities of the Cambrian: White-Inyo Mountains]</ref>

== Wilderness == Most of the mountain range ({{convert|199208|acres|km2|abbr=on}}) is designated as the '''Inyo Mountain Wilderness''', managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the south and the United States Forest Service in the north.<ref>[https://wilderness.net/visit-wilderness/?ID=263 Inyo Mountains Wilderness] - Wilderness Connect</ref> The USFS manages {{convert|73300|acres|km2|abbr=on}} of the wilderness all within Inyo National Forest.<ref>[http://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/inyo/recreation Inyo Mountains Wilderness] - Inyo National Forest</ref>

Wildlife in the area includes the endangered Inyo Mountains salamander and the desert bighorn sheep.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ca.blm.gov/pa/wilderness/wa/areas/inyo_mountains.html |title=BLM: Inyo Mountain Wilderness |access-date=2004-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040811173008/http://www.ca.blm.gov/pa/wilderness/wa/areas/inyo_mountains.html |archive-date=2004-08-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Plant communities include creosote and sagebrush at lower altitudes, and bristlecone pine forests at higher altitudes.<ref>[https://wilderness.net/visit-wilderness/?ID=263 Inyo Mountains Wilderness] - Wilderness Connect</ref> A number of rare and endemic plants are adapted to the unique limestone soils of the mountains, including the cliffdweller,<ref>[http://cnps.web.aplus.net/cgi-bin/inv/inventory.cgi/Go?_id=caulostramina_jaegeri&sort=DEFAULT&search=Caulostramina%20jaegeri CNPS: ''Caulostramina'']{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> bristlecone cryptantha,<ref>[http://cnps.web.aplus.net/cgi-bin/inv/inventory.cgi/Go?_id=cryptantha_roosiorum&sort=DEFAULT&search=Cryptantha%20roosiorum CNPS: ''Cryptantha roosiorum'']{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> and Inyo rock daisy.<ref>[http://cnps.web.aplus.net/cgi-bin/inv/inventory.cgi/Go?_id=perityle_inyoensis&sort=DEFAULT&search=Perityle%20inyoensis CNPS: ''Perityle inyoensis'']{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == *[https://www.blm.gov/visit/inyo-mountains-wilderness Inyo Mountain Wilderness] - BLM

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Category:Inyo Mountains Category:Mountain ranges of Inyo County, California Category:Mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert Category:California placenames of Native American origin Category:Inyo National Forest Category:Owens Valley