[2] The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately 70 miles (110 km) south-southeast from the southern end of the White Mountains, from which they are separated by Westgard Pass, to the east of Owens Lake.

They are considered to be among the most important and best-known Late Proterozoic to Cambrian sections in the United States.

[3] Most of the mountain range (199,208 acres (806.17 km2)) is designated as the Inyo Mountain Wilderness, managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the south and the United States Forest Service in the north.

[5] Wildlife in the area includes the endangered Inyo Mountains salamander and the desert bighorn sheep.

[7] A number of rare and endemic plants are adapted to the unique limestone soils of the mountains, including the cliffdweller,[8] bristlecone cryptantha,[9] and Inyo rock daisy.