Yucca Mountain, Mountain peak in southern Nevada, United States.

Yucca Mountain is a ridge in the Great Basin of southern Nevada, east of the Amargosa Desert and about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Las Vegas. It runs nearly 10 km from south to north and consists of ignimbrite and welded, semi-welded and non-welded tuff, tilted along faults into its present ridgeline and cut by cooling fractures.

Geological studies began in 1978 when scientists assessed the mountain's potential as a national nuclear waste storage site. This evaluation led to extensive exploration and research into the mountain's deep geological structure.

Yucca Mountain and the surrounding lands were central to the Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute peoples, who shared them for religious ceremonies, resource uses and social events. The mountain is still considered sacred by Shoshone people today, and Western Shoshone have joined national environmental organizations in campaigning to stop the repository project.

Yucca Mountain lies about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Las Vegas, east of the Amargosa Desert and south of the Nevada Test and Training Range, within the Nevada National Security Site. The site is not open to casual visitors; access is controlled because it lies inside a restricted federal reservation. The ridge runs nearly 10 km from south to north in desert terrain with very little rainfall.

A 5-mile exploratory tunnel was carved into the mountain to test its suitability for waste storage purposes. This underground passage remains visible evidence of the extensive scientific investigation conducted at the site.