Bridge Mountain, Mountain summit in Clark County, Nevada
Bridge Mountain is a 2,120-metre summit in the Spring Mountains of Clark County, Nevada, within the Rainbow Mountain Wilderness of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Near the top, a sandstone arch—the eroded remnant of a tinaja, or natural water tank—gives the mountain its name. The summit holds a small hidden forest of Ponderosa pine in a sandstone cleft.
The mountain became part of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area under Bureau of Land Management protection. This designation ensured the preservation of its geological features.
The mountain's name comes from the sandstone arch near the summit, the eroded remnant of a tinaja, a natural water tank. Hikers pass cairns marking the route up the slickrock and, at the top, find a small ammunition box holding the peak's sign-in book.
The Rocky Gap Summit Trailhead is reachable only by 4WD. Hikers can instead park at the north Willow Springs campground and walk 5 miles (8 km) to the summit. Another option is to turn north from Highway 160 and drive 7.5 miles (12 km) up Lovell Canyon Road, parking where the pavement ends; from there the summit is about 3.3 miles (5.3 km) with less elevation gain. The route is marked by cairns.
The natural bridge near the summit is the eroded remnant of a tinaja, a rock basin that once held water; only one side of the tank survived. The arch gave the mountain its name. A cleft in the summit sandstone shelters the small stand of Ponderosa pines, and from the eastern end of that grove the Las Vegas Valley is visible.
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