The South Fork Eel River 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 in

Mendocino County, California Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...

. The wilderness was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System when the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

passed the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act in 2006 (Public Law 109-362). The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the agency in charge. The wilderness is broken into two sections. The Red Mountain unit is dominated by Red Mountain and the

Cedar Creek (South Fork Eel River) Cedar Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 9, 2011 tributary of the South Fork Eel River in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County in the U.S. state ...

drainage. Elevations range from at the southwest end along Cedar Creek to , less than three miles away at the top Red Mountain. Terrain is generally steep, consisting of rugged drainages dropping abruptly into Cedar Creek canyon. A small area of fairly gentle slopes is found near the summit. A zone of reddish soil occupies the central part of the area and contrasts sharply with the surrounding landscape. These unusual soils have resulted in a unique vegetation cover of several species of pine and cypress trees intermixed with a low brush understory. Rare and endangered plant species occupy the landscape covered by these ultrabasic soils. These rare plants have been isolated over space and time on

serpentine rock Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''ser ...

near the summit of Red Mountain. This edaphic sky island holds the northern range extension of Sargent cypress (''Cupressus sargentii''). This is also the only location to find Red Mountain buckwheat ('' Eriogonum kelloggii'') and Red Mountain stonecrop (''

Sedum eastwoodiae ''Sedum eastwoodiae'' is a rare species of flowering plant of the stonecrop Crassulaceae family. It is known by its common name Red Mountain stonecrop. It is Endemism, endemic to Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County, California, where i ...

''). Much of the area is designated and Research Natural Area (RNA) / Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The red soil on Red Mountain is in the Littlered series. It is an Ultisol, a Haplohumult, with nearly 50% iron oxides. The main iron oxide is goethite (FeOOH), with enough hematite(Fe₂O₃)to make the soil red. The southern section called Cahto Peak unit consists of several Douglas fir forest watersheds, one (Elder Creek) of which is so pristine that it has been designated a Biosphere Reserve, a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

, and a Hydrologic Benchmark. Much of the area is designated an RNA/ACEC.

References

External links

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Wilderness.netConifer Country Red Mountain Exploration and Images
{{Protected Areas of California, NF Wilderness areas of California Mendocino County, California 2006 establishments in California Protected areas established in 2006