Arica Mountains

The Arica Mountains are a small mountain range in northern Riverside County, California. The range lies along the south edge of Rice Valley southwest of the old Rice townsite on California State Route 62. They lie north of the Little Maria Mountains and southwest of the Turtle Mountains.Parker, Arizona–California, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quad, USGS, 1985Blyth, California–Arizona, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1986 The Granite Mountains lie about 8 miles to the west.Eagle Mountains, California, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1986 They are in the Colorado Desert, in the Lower Colorado River Valley region. They are north the Palen Mountains and Big Maria Mountains; and northwest of Blythe, California.

Palen/McCoy Wilderness Area The southwest portion of the Arica Mountains lies within the Palen/McCoy Wilderness Area.Palen McCoy Wilderness managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Within the Palen-McCoy Wilderness are the Arica, Granite, Palen, Little Maria, and McCoy Mountains, which are five distinct mountain ranges separated by broad sloping alluvial fans-bajadas. Because this large area incorporates so many major geological features, the diversity of vegetation and landforms is exceptional. The desert wash woodland found here provides food and cover for burro deer, coyote, bobcat, gray fox, and mountain lion. Desert pavement, bajadas, interior valleys, canyons, dense ironwood forests, canyons and rugged peaks form a constantly changing landscape pattern. . accessed 6/24/2010 . BLM public domain sourced

References

External links Palen-McCoy Wilderness Area website BLM Palen-McCoy Wilderness Map Palen-McCoy Wilderness Area photographs