Riverside Mountains

The Riverside Mountains are a mountain range in Riverside County, California. The town of Vidal, California is located in the West Riverside Mountains.

Geography

The Riverside Mountains are in the Colorado Desert, in the Lower Colorado River Valley region. They are southeast of the Turtle Mountains and north of the Big Maria Mountains, and the Colorado River borders its eastern perimeter. The high point of the range is 2,252 feet (686 m).

Riverside Mountains Wilderness Area

The Riverside Mountains Wilderness Area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Colorado River parallels this wilderness on its eastern edge.

The landscape varies from gently sloping bajadas to steep, rugged interiors. Washes emerging from canyons divide the bajadas below. Numerous peaks in the Riverside Mountains give this small range a rough, craggy appearance. Two sensitive plant species, the foxtail cactus and California barrel cactus; and a small herd of Burro deer (Odocoileus hemionus eremicus) live in the Riverside range.