Carson Range
Looking south from Genoa, Nevada, toward the Carson Range
Highest point
Peak	Freel Peak
Elevation	10,881 ft (3,317 m)[1]
Dimensions
Length	50 mi (80 km) N-S
Width	5–10 mi (8.0–16.1 km) E-W
Geography
location of Carson Range in Nevada[2]
Country	United States
States	Nevada and California
Range coordinates	39°20′37.672″N 119°55′1.688″W / 39.34379778°N 119.91713556°W / 39.34379778; -119.91713556
Parent range	Sierra Nevada (U.S.)
Borders on	Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe
Topo map	USGS Mount Rose

The Carson Range is a spur of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California and western Nevada that starts at Carson Pass and stretches north to the Truckee River near Verdi, Nevada.

Geography

The mountain range is about 50 miles (80 km) long and 5–10 miles (8–16 km) wide, with 3/4 of the range lying within the state of Nevada. The Carson Range, along with its parent the Sierra Nevada, together cast a rain shadow over the Greater Reno Area and Carson City.

Unlike the main crest of the Sierra Nevada to the west of Lake Tahoe, the Carson Range loses its snow much earlier (April), and gains it much later (December). In fact, it receives about half the snowfall as mountains west of the lake.^[3] Meltwater from the range feeds into the Truckee River and West Fork Carson River, as well as Lake Tahoe and Marlette Lake.

Principal Mountains

Transportation

The western slopes of the range form the eastern shoreline of Lake Tahoe, along which US 50 and NV 28 form a partial ring road around Lake Tahoe.

Travel between Lake Tahoe and Carson City is possible via US 50 over Spooner Summit, or NV 207 over Daggett Pass. Winding through the northern half of the range lies NV 431, connecting Incline Village to Reno over Mount Rose Summit.

The Tahoe Rim Trail traverses this mountain range.