Palen Pass, at 1,472 feet above sea level, lies at the northern end of the chain, with Palen Dry Lake and the Bureau of Land Management designated and managed Edmund C. Jaeger Nature Sanctuary[2] to the west of the range in the southern Palen Valley.

Within the Palen-McCoy Wilderness are the Palen, Granite, Arica, Little Maria, and McCoy Mountains, which are five distinct mountain ranges separated by broad sloping alluvial fans-bajadas.

Because this large area incorporates so many major geological features, the diversity of vegetation and landforms is exceptional.

The desert-wash woodland found here provides food and cover for burro deer, coyote, bobcat, gray fox, and mountain lion.

Desert pavement, bajadas, interior valleys, canyons, dense ironwood forests, canyons, and rugged peaks form a constantly changing landscape pattern.