The Toquima Mountain Range, steep and sharply cut with many rocky canyons, lies between Big Smoky Valley on the west and Monitor Valley on the east. In the central portion of the range you'll find the Alta Toquima Wilderness, rising from "gentler" terrain in the northern section to more rugged ground that peaks in the south on the massif of Mount Jefferson. Jefferson stands boldly prominent, a collection of three summits on a ridge eight miles long and two miles wide, with a high point of 11,949 feet. On a clear day, this ridge will provide you with distant views of mountains in California and Utah. In 1978 an archeological site was discovered on Jefferson, the highest known Indian village in North America, a mystery 7,000 years old.