The Middle Santiam 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 near

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...

in the central

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

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 ...

, U.S., within the

Willamette National Forest The Willamette National Forest is a National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are designated wilderness which include seven ...

Topography

The Middle Santiam Wilderness ranges from steep slopes, high peaks, and ridges at the higher elevations to gently sloping and bench-like terrain in the lower elevations. The most prominent features include Donaca Lake, the Middle Santiam River, and the 4,965-foot Chimney Peak, a lava plug in the northwestern portion of the Wilderness. Not far to the south of the Middle Santiam Wilderness lies Menagerie Wilderness.Middle Santiam Wilderness
Willamette National Forest, U.S. Forest Service.
. GORP.com.

Flora and fauna

Much of the Middle Santiam Wilderness is forested with mature stands of

old growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance (ecology), disturbance, and thereby exhibits un ...

estimated to be 450 years old and tall.

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

western redcedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae, w ...

and

western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...

grow at lower elevations and true firs near the ridgelines. Native fish populations, including

Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...

during spawning season, thrive in both the Santiam River and Donaca Lake. Middle Santiam Wilderness map

References

External links

Willamette National Forest - Middle Santiam Wilderness

Forests and Global Warming
- Oregon Wild Cascade Range IUCN Category Ib Old-growth forests Wilderness areas of Oregon Protected areas of Linn County, Oregon Willamette National Forest 1984 establishments in Oregon Protected areas established in 1984 {{LinnCountyOR-geo-stub

Topography

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links