The north end of the valley contains a large salt pan, or dry lake, Dry Lake or Eldorado Playa, while the southern two thirds drains northwards.[1]U.S. Route 95 traverses eastern portions of the valley, and climbs steeply to meet U.S. Route 93, connecting Boulder City to Henderson.
The endorheic basin lies north of the Piute Wash Watershed,[2] of the north-south Piute Valley. The Piute Wash drains south, then southeast to the Colorado River.
Highland Range Crucial Bighorn Habitat
The southern valley includes a habitatnature reserve for the Desert Bighorn Sheep, named the 'Highland Range Crucial Bighorn Habitat'.[3] There are no public access routes into the habitat area, to protect the Bighorn.
Valley's center-south, from east side. (North end of Highland Range (from east-southeast), McCullough Range massif beyond.)
Solar power
Map of solar farms in the valley
The northern valley contains Boulder City's "Eldorado Energy Zone" which is home to the 480 MW El Dorado natural gas power plant completed in the year 2000.[4]
Since 2007, it is also home to the concentrated solar power plant, Nevada Solar One, as well as a growing number of photovoltaic power stations, including:[5][6][7]