John Muir Wilderness
{{Short description|Protected area in the Sierra Nevada of California, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = John Muir Wilderness
| iucn_category = Ib
| photo = Long Lake in Little Lakes Valley.jpg
| photo_caption = Long Lake in Little Lakes Valley, John Muir Wilderness
| map = USA California#USA
| map_size = 200
| relief = yes
| map_caption = none
| location = Fresno / Inyo / Mono / Madera counties, California, United States
| nearest_city = Fresno, CA
| coordinates = {{coord|36|58|33|N|118|48|42|W|region:US|display=inline, title}}
| area_acre = 652,793
| established = January 1, 1964
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = U.S. Forest Service
}}
The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California for {{convert|90|mi|km|-1}}, in the Inyo and Sierra National Forests.{{Cite web |title=United States Forest Service |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/index.shtml |year=2006 |page=Inyo National Forest Wilderness Areas }} Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist John Muir, it encompasses {{convert|652,793|acre|km2}}. The wilderness lies along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra from near Mammoth Lakes and Devils Postpile National Monument in the north, to Cottonwood Pass near Mount Whitney in the south.{{cite book |first=Rod |last=Adkinson |title=Wild Northern California |publisher=The Globe Pequot Press |year=2001 |isbn=1-56044-781-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/wildnortherncali0000adki }} The wilderness area also spans the Sierra crest north of Kings Canyon National Park, and extends on the west side of the park down to the Monarch Wilderness.
Geography and geology
The wilderness contains some of the most spectacular and highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada, with 57 peaks over {{convert|13000|ft|m|-2}} in elevation. The peaks are typically made of granite from the Sierra Nevada Batholith, and are dramatically shaped by glacial action. The southernmost glacier in the United States, the Palisade Glacier, is contained within the wilderness area. Notable east-side glaciated canyons are drained by Rock, McGee and Bishop Creeks.
File:williamson tree distant.jpg and Mount Tyndall in the John Muir Wilderness from near Independence Airport]]
The eastern escarpment in the wilderness rises from {{convert|6000|to|8000|ft|m|-2}} from base to peak, in {{convert|5|to|6|mi|km|0}}. The Sierra crest contains peaks from {{convert|12000|to|14000|ft|m|-2}} in elevation, including Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States. Other notable mountains in the wilderness area include the Palisades and Mount Humphreys. Mount Muir is located 2 miles south of Mount Whitney. Mount Williamson is the second-highest peak in the wilderness, at {{convert|14375|ft|m}}: it rises in one continuous sweep of granite from the floor of the Owens Valley to a peak just east of the main range.
Ecology
{{Main|Ecology of the Sierra Nevada}}
The John Muir Wilderness contains the largest contiguous area above {{convert|10000|ft|m|-2}} in the continental United States. It contains large areas of subalpine meadows and fellfields above {{convert|10800|ft|m|-2}}, containing stands of whitebark and foxtail pine. From {{convert|9000|ft|m|-2}} to {{convert|10800|ft|m|-2}}, the wilderness is dominated by lodgepole pines. Below the lodgepole forest is forest dominated by Jeffrey pine.{{cite book |title=A Natural History of California |first=Allan A. |last=Schoenherr |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-06922-6 |year=1992}}
Common animals in the wilderness include yellow-bellied marmots, pikas, golden-mantled ground squirrels, Clark's nutcrackers, golden trout, and black bears. The wilderness area also includes California bighorn sheep zoological areas, which are set aside for the protection of the species.
Recreation
The wilderness contains {{convert|589.5|mi|km}} of hiking trails, including the John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, which run through the wilderness from north to south. The John Muir Wilderness is the second most-visited wilderness in the United States, and quotas for overnight use have been implemented on virtually all trailheads.
{{clear left}}
Lakes
File:Blue Lake, Sabrina Basin.jpg
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
- Dingleberry Lake
- Disappointment Lake
- Hell for Sure Lake
- Loch Leven
- Lake of the Lone Indian
- Mills Lake
- Nüümü Hu Hupi
- Pee Wee Lake
- Lake Virginia
{{div col end}}
See also
- Bibliography of the Sierra Nevada, for further reading
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons and category}}
- [https://wilderness.net/visit-wilderness/?ID=278 Wilderness.net]
- [http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?z=11&n=4147793&e=329374&s=100&size=l&u=7&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25 TopoQuest map]
{{John Muir Wilderness|state=collapsed}}
{{Protected Areas of California|NF}}
{{Sierra Nevada}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Wilderness areas of California
Category:Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Category:Sierra National Forest
Category:Protected areas of Fresno County, California
Category:Protected areas of Inyo County, California
Category:Protected areas of Madera County, California
Category:Protected areas of Mono County, California
Category:Protected areas established in 1964