Toiyabe Range

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The Toiyabe Range is a range of mountains in central Nevada in the western United States. It starts in northwestern Nye County north of Tonopah, Nevada and runs approximately 120 miles (190 km) north-northeast through eastern Lander County, making it the second longest range in the state. The highest point in the range, near its southern end, is Arc Dome (11,788 feet, 3592 m), an area protected as the Arc Dome Wilderness. Although the Toiyabe Range is in the rain shadow of the higher Sierra Nevada (U.S.) range to the west and is too arid to support forests except for scattered pines, the climate was cold and snowy enough during the Pleistocene to develop alpine glaciers in several places, with cirques, moraines, and other glacial features still apparent. There are numerous hiking routes in the Toiyabes, including one along the crest.

The Toiyabe Range, as seen from the north shoulder of Arc Dome

The Toiyabe Range is separated from the Shoshone Mountains to the west by the Reese River Valley, although they intermingle at their southern extremes. On the east the Toiyabe Range is separated from the Toquima Range by the Big Smoky Valley.

The historic mining community of Austin is located on the western slope of the Toiyabe Range, about midway along its length. U.S. Route 50, the "Loneliest Highway in America", runs through Austin and then crosses the range at Scotts Summit at an elevation of 7,484 feet (2,281 m). U.S. Route 6, even lonelier, passes to the south of the range, connecting the communities of Tonopah and Ely.