Cortez Mountains

{{Short description|Mountain range in Nevada, USA}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Cortez Mountains

| native_name =

| other_name =

| etymology =

| photo = File:A342, Crescent Valley, Nevada, USA, high-voltage AC transmission towers, 2011.jpg

| photo_caption = HVAC transmission towers cross Crescent Valley eastward toward the Cortez Mountains in the distance

| country = United States

| state = Nevada

| region =

| district = Eureka and Lander counties

| topo_map = Crescent Valley 30x60 and Battle Mountain 30x60

| topo_maker = USGS

| border =

| range_coordinates = {{coord|40|18|39.711|N|116|20|5.277|W|type:mountain_scale:300000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| highest = Mount Tenabo

| elevation_m = 2790

| coordinates = {{coord|40|09.80|N|116|34.99|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline}}

| length_mi = | length_orientation =

| width_mi = | width_orientation =

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| map = Nevada

| map_size = 220

| map_caption = Location of Cortez Mountains in Nevada{{cite gnis|id=847292|name=Cortez Mountains|accessdate=2009-05-04}}

}}

The Cortez Mountains are located in north central Nevada in the United States. The range lies in a southwest-northeasterly direction between Crescent Valley and Pine Valley. Mount Tenabo is the principal peak of the range, at 9,153 feet above sea level.Cortez Quadrangle, Nevada, 7.5 Minute Series, USGS, 1986 Surrounding ranges include: the Shoshone Range to the northwest, the Pinon and Sulphur Springs ranges to the east, the Simpson Park Mountains to the south and the Toiyabe Range to the southwest across the narrow Cortez Canyon.Crescent Valley, Nevada, 30x60 Minute Topographic Series, USGS, 1987

The northeastern end of the range reaches the Humboldt River at Palisade about {{convert|9.5|mi}} southwest of Carlin.Battle Mountain, Nevada, 30x60 Minute Topographic Series, USGS, 1988

The Bureau of Land Management oversees 70% of the range, while privately held land accounts for the other 30%. Vegetation is primarily pinyon-juniper, montane shrub, and sagebrush steppe. At least four different species of mice live in the range. The side-blotched lizard and the chisel-toothed kangaroo rat are also found in the mountains.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

The range is named after Hernán Cortés, the 16th-century Spanish conquistador.{{cite book | url=http://dwgateway.library.unr.edu/keck/histtopoNV/Origin_of_Place_Names_Files/1941NevadaOriginofNames-pt1.pdf | title=Origin of Place Names: Nevada | publisher=W.P.A. | author=Federal Writers' Project | year=1941 | pages=33}}