Mount Tenabo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mount Tenabo |
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 Mount Tenabo
Location in Nevada
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 9,157 ft (2,791 m) NAVD 88 |
| Prominence | 3,153 ft (961 m) |
| Geography | |
| Location | Eureka County, Nevada, U.S. |
| Parent range | Cortez Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS Cortez |
Mount Tenabo is a tall mountain in the Cortez Mountains in Nevada, U.S.. Its name means "Lookout Mountain" in the Shoshoni language. This mountain is very important to the Western Shoshone people because of their culture and beliefs.
What's in a Name?
People have different ideas about how Mount Tenabo got its name. Some think it was named by people from New Mexico after an old town built by the Puebloan peoples. Others believe the name comes from a Paiute word. This word might mean "dark colored water."
Where is Mount Tenabo?
Mount Tenabo stands 9,157 feet (2,791 m) high. That's about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) higher than the flat lands around it. The bottom of the mountain is covered with scrub pine trees. Higher up, about 1,500 feet (460 m) below the top, you'll find lots of grass and bushes.
About 25 miles (40 km) north of the mountain is the Humboldt River and its valley. To the east, there are more hills and valleys. If you look west, you'll see the Smoky Valley and other peaks like Mount Hope. Mount Tenabo is about 30 miles (48 km) south of a town called Beowawe.
Deep inside the mountain, about 3,000 feet (910 m) above its base, there's a special rock layer. This layer has silver in it. It stretches for a very long distance, about 18,650 feet (5,680 m), and is about 400 feet (120 m) wide. This silver-rich rock is surrounded by a type of rock called limestone.
A Look Back in Time
Silver was first found at Mount Tenabo in 1862. A group of people from New Mexico made this discovery. By the late 1860s, more than 20 places were set up to process the silver ore.
In 2008, some Native American groups, including the Te-Moak tribe and the Timbisha tribe, tried to stop new mining work. This mining was part of the Barrick Gold company's Cortez Hills project. Some of the mining facilities were on the slopes of Mount Tenabo.
As of 2016, mining continued. The BLM, a U.S. government agency, was working on a new report about the mining's effects on the environment. This report was ordered by a court.
