The Siskiyou Wilderness is a federal
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 ...
designated by the passage of the
California Wilderness Act of 1984
The California Wilderness Act of 1984 is a federal law (Public Law 98-425), passed by the United States Congress on September 28, 1984, that authorized the addition of over within the state of California to the National Wilderness Preservation ...
. Originally, the land area was The
Northern California Wild Heritage Act of 2006 added for the current total of . All of the wilderness is in
Northern California and is managed by the
U.S. Forest Service. The wilderness spans three national forests: the
Rogue River–Siskiyou, the
Klamath, and the
Six Rivers.
The
Siskiyou Mountains
The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal subrange of the Klamath Mountains, and located in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately from east of Crescent City, California, northea ...
form one of the longest continuous crests in the
Klamath Mountains
The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast ...
region. Elevations range from to the summit of
Preston Peak at above sea level. Trending in a north–south direction from the Oregon border down to near the town of Weitchpec and inland from the Pacific Ocean, the Siskiyous are dotted by rocky peaks rising over from the surrounding lowlands.
Flora and fauna
The Siskiyou Wilderness contains a diverse collection of conifer species including rarities such as
Alaska cedar,
Port Orford cedar
''Chamaecyparis lawsoniana'', known as Port Orford cedar or Lawson cypress, is a species of conifer in the genus '' Chamaecyparis'', family Cupressaceae. It is native to Oregon and northwestern California, and grows from sea level up to in th ...
, and the Klamath Mountains-
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
Brewer spruce.
[
] It is notable for the vast amounts of old-growth forests and many endemic species of wildflowers, shrubs and trees, as well as one of the world's largest concentrations of lilies.
The wilderness is home to several rare species, including
wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
,
martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austr ...
,
fisher
Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral.
Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to:
Places
Australia
*Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland
*Elect ...
,
northern spotted owl
The northern spotted owl (''Strix occidentalis caurina'') is one of three spotted owl subspecies. A western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus '' Strix'', it is a medium-sized dark brown owl native to the Pacific Northwest. An ...
and Roosevelt
elk. There is also
black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to:
Animals
* American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species
* Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species
Music
* Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
, black-tailed deer, and many varieties of birds. The clear streams provide spawning grounds for
steelhead
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...
,
coho
The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name is ...
and
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 ...
.
Recreation
The
Clear Creek National Recreation Trail crosses of the northern portion and provides access to some of the more scenic parts of the wilderness—from near the
Klamath River
The Klamath River (Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') flows through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second large ...
to the
Smith River (California)
The Smith River (Tolowa: ) flows from the Klamath Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in Del Norte County in extreme northwestern California, on the West Coast of the United States.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolutio ...
divide. In the southern part of the wilderness, the
Kelsey National Recreation Trail begins at Bear Lake, and the experienced hiker can walk for about to the Smith River. The most heavily visited areas are in the northwest corner of the region—concentrated on trails that lead to lakes. Much of the area lacks trails and is difficult to access cross-country because of the dense brush.
The
Bigfoot Trail traverses the crest of the wilderness from north to south, through some of the most remote areas.
Climate
See also
*
Young Fire
Footnotes
References
*
External links
Siskiyou Wilderness Six Rivers National Forest
Siskiyou Wilderness Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest
Siskiyou Wilderness Klamath National Forest
{{Authority control
Klamath Mountains
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
Protected areas of Del Norte County, California
Protected areas of Humboldt County, California
Protected areas of Siskiyou County, California
Wilderness areas of California
IUCN Category Ib
Klamath National Forest
Six Rivers National Forest
1984 establishments in California
Protected areas established in 1984