![Chimney Peak Wilderness Calif](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Chimney_Peak_Wilderness_Calif.jpg)
The Chimney Peak 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 northwest of
Ridgecrest, in southeastern
Tulare County, California
Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lake ...
.
The 1994
California Desert Protection Act (
Public Law 103–433) created the wilderness and it is managed by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
Department of the Interior.
The Chimney Peak Wilderness is a rugged and mountainous
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
environment on the eastern side of the Southern
Sierra Nevada Range. The wilderness is named for Chimney Peak, elevation , located in the northeast corner of the wilderness.
The area has Mojave Desert plants such as
Joshua tree (''Yucca brevifolia'') and
creosote bush (''Larrea tridentata'') on the valley floors and
alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...
s and in the Sierra foothills. Higher Sierra elevations have
single-leaf pinyon pine (''Pinus monophylla'').
Recreation
Recreational activities include hiking, horseback riding, fishing and camping/backpacking. No motorized vehicles or mechanical equipment is allowed within a wilderness area. A backcountry byway for vehicles is adjacent to part of it.
The
Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
passes through the wilderness area.
A portion of the Sacatar Trail, an old wagon road into the
Owens Valley
Owens Valley ( Numic: ''Payahǖǖnadǖ'', meaning "place of flowing water") is an arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States. It is located to the east of the Sierra Nevada, west of the White Mountains and Iny ...
once used by soldiers and cattlemen, cross the Chimney Peak Wilderness, .
;Chimney Peak Backcountry Byway
The BLM began a "byway" program in 1989 which is a tour by automobile through or near scenic public lands. This program designates "backcountry byways" along secondary roads. The Chimney Peak Backcountry Byway can be accessed from
State Route 178, is over in length and travels through Lamont Meadow, circles around Chimney Peak, and returns to Canebrake Road at Lamont Meadow.
See also
*
Sacatar Trail Wilderness — ''adjacent''.
Notes
External links
*
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{{authority control
Wilderness areas of California
Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Protected areas of Tulare County, California
Bureau of Land Management areas in California
Protected areas established in 1994
1994 establishments in California