The Badger Creek Wilderness is a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

located east of

Mount Hood Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...

in the northwestern Cascades of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is one of six designated wilderness areas in the

Mount Hood National Forest The Mount Hood National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon, located east of the city of Portland and the northern Willamette River valley. The Forest extends south from the Columbia River Gorge across more than of fore ...

, the others being

Mark O. Hatfield Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served for 30 years as a United States senator from Oregon, and also as chairman of the Senate Appropr ...

, Salmon-Huckleberry,

, Mount Jefferson, and

Bull of the Woods ''Bull of the Woods'' is the third studio album by The 13th Floor Elevators, and the last on which they worked as a group. The album is noted for its moody, dreamy, and fuzzed-out psychedelic sound, and was released by International Artists. Ba ...

Topography

The elevation of Badger Creek Wilderness ranges from . Steep walled glacial valleys lead to the top of Lookout Mountain, at . Annual precipitation in the Wilderness ranges from on the western ridges to in the dry eastern lowlands. Three creeks drain the Wilderness - Badger, Little Badger, and Tygh.Badger Creek Wilderness
- Wilderness.net

Vegetation

Lookout Mountain and the high ridgeland extending east support a

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

ecosystem, with hardy trees and rocky terrain.

Penstemon ''Penstemon'' , the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 250 species of flowering plants native mostly to the Nearctic, but with a few species also found in the North American portion of the Neotropics. It is the largest genus of flowering ...

, Indian paintbrush, yellow avalanche lilies, and

stonecrop ''Sedum'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. The genus has been described as containing up to 600 species, subsequently reduced to 400–500. They are leaf succulen ...

are common in the area. Farther east in the Wilderness the climate is warm and dry, where

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

forest and extensive growths of

Oregon white oak ''Quercus garryana'' is an oak tree species of the Pacific Northwest, with a range stretching from southern California to southwestern British Columbia. It is commonly known as the Oregon white oak or Oregon oak or, in Canada, the Garry oak. It ...

and grasslands are common. Larkspur, shooting star, lupine, balsamroot, death camas, and purple onion can be found in the area.

Recreation

Common recreational activities in Badger Creek Wilderness include

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

, wildlife watching,

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

, and

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

. There are approximately of developed trails in the Wilderness. These trails lead to Lookout Mountain, Flag Point fire lookout, Badger Lake, and along Badger, Little Badger, and Tygh Creeks. There are several primitive campsites in the wilderness. the Bonney Butte area of the wilderness is in Mount Hood National Recreation Area.

References

External links

Mt. Hood National Forest - Wilderness
{{Authority control Cascade Range Old-growth forests Wilderness areas of Oregon Protected areas of Hood River County, Oregon Protected areas of Wasco County, Oregon Mount Hood National Forest 1984 establishments in Oregon Protected areas established in 1984

Topography

Vegetation

Recreation

See also

References

External links