Whipple Mountains

Whipple Mountains
location of Whipple Mountains in California
Highest point
Peak	Whipple Peak
Elevation	4,131 ft (1,259 m)
Dimensions
Length	20 mi (32 km) N-S
Width	25 mi (40 km) E-W
Geography
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Colorado Desert ((northwest)-Sonoran Desert)
District	San Bernardino County
Range coordinates	34°17′53″N 114°26′18″W / 34.29806°N 114.43833°W / 34.29806; -114.43833Coordinates: 34°17′53″N 114°26′18″W / 34.29806°N 114.43833°W / 34.29806; -114.43833
Borders on	Colorado River-NE & SE California State Route 62-S
Topo map	USGS Whipple Mountains SW

The Whipple Mountains, 'Avii Kur'utat in the Mojave language, are located in eastern San Bernardino County, California. They are directly west of the Colorado River, Parker Dam, and Lake Havasu; south of Needles, California; north of Parker, Arizona and Vidal, California; and northeast of Vidal Junction, California.

The mountain forms a major direction change of the north-south Colorado, as it changes directions to southeast, then southwest around the eastern perimeter of the Whipple Mountains. The highest point of the mountains, and the Whipple Mountains Wilderness is Whipple Mountain at 4,131 feet (1,259 m). The western portion of the mountain range has pale green formations, differing from the eastern, steeply carved and striking brick-red volcanics. Landforms are diverse and range from valley floors and washes to steep-walled canyons, domed peaks, natural bridges, and eroded spires.

The mountains were named after Amiel Weeks Whipple, a lieutenant in the US Army who surveyed the region in the 1840s, and later died in Chancellorsville in the Civil War.

The range stretches approximately 25 miles (40 km) in an east-west direction, and reaches an elevation of 2,695 feet (821 m) at Savahia Peak at the western end. The Whipple Mountains are home to many mines including the Independence Mine and Bessie Mine. The range lies in the Colorado Desert, the northwestern section of the Sonoran Desert, and in the Lower Colorado River Valley region. The Turtle Mountains are to the west, the Mopah Range adjacent on the south, and the Chemehuevi Mountains upriver to the north. Whipple Peak is the highest point in the range at an elevation of 4,131 ft; it lies west of the range's center, and Whipple Wash flows northeast from the peak.