Independence Mountains

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Location of the Independence Range within Nevada

The Independence Mountains are a range of peaks and hills in northern Elko County, in northeastern Nevada in the western United States. The range extends northward approximately 70 miles (110 km) from a point near Carlin to the banks of the Owyhee River. To the east is the North Fork of the Humboldt River, and to the west is the Owyhee Desert. Passing to the south is the main branch of the Humboldt River, and near the northern end of the range is the Wild Horse State Recreation Area.

From a point about 7 miles north of Carlin, the range rises to Swales Mountain, at an elevation of 8068 feet (2460 m). Dropping to an area of hills and buttes, it then rises again to Lone Mountain (Nannies Peak), at 8780 feet (2675 m). The range then drops nearly to the level of the surrounding valleys, at a pass where Nevada State Route 226 connects to the community of Tuscarora.

Rising sharply to the main core of the range, the crest runs through Wheeler Mountain (9057 feet, 2760 m), Jack's Peak (10,198 feet, 3108 m), and finally to McAfee Peak (10,439 feet, 3180 m), the highest point of the range.