The South Warner Wilderness is a federally designated
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 ...
east of
Alturas, California
Alturas (Spanish for "Heights"; Achumawi: ''Kasalektawi'') is a city and the county seat of Modoc County, California. Located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, the city had a population of 2,715 at the 2020 census. Altur ...
, United States. It encompasses more than of the
Warner Mountains
The Warner Mountains are an -long mountain range running north–south through northeastern California and extending into southern Oregon in the United States. The range lies within the northwestern corner of the Basin and Range Province, exte ...
.
It is within the
Modoc National Forest
Modoc National Forest is a U.S. national forest in Northeastern California.
Geography
The Modoc National Forest protects parts of Modoc (82.9% of acreage), Lassen (9.4%), and Siskiyou (7.7%) counties. Most of the forest was covered by immense ...
and managed by the
US Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...
. Elevations range from to 9,895 feet
at
Eagle Peak Eagle Peak is the name of 44 mountain peaks of the United States including:
*Eagle Peak (Alaska)
* Eagle Peak (Admiralty Island), in Alaska
* Eagle Peak (Washington), a summit in Mount Rainier National Park
*Eagle Peak (Mariposa County, California), ...
.
The highest parts of the Warner Mountains were set aside in 1931 as a primitive area. In 1964, the
Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...
created the South Warner Wilderness. In 1984, were added to the wilderness with the passage of the
California Wilderness Act.
The Warner crest divides waters that flow west into the Sacramento/
Pit River drainage, and east into the
Great Basin alkali lakes of
Surprise Valley. Much of the crest is a narrow ridgeline with notable peaks such as Emerson Peak and
Warren Peak. The eastern side of the wilderness is a steep, abrupt escarpment of volcanic terrain of cliff bands and terraces. Very different from the east side are the western slopes. Heavily forested, steadily rising slopes furrowed by several drainages such as Mill Creek.
The west side also includes a portion of a state game refuge.
Landscape
The Warner Mountain Range is a
fault block range, with the Surprise Valley Fault on the east and the Likely Fault to the west. The steep escarpment on the east side of the range is the exposed side of the Surprise Valley fault.
Geologists estimate that
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
lava flows occurred 15 to 30 million years ago, creating the Modoc Plateau which is a part of the larger
Columbia Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Col ...
. The breaking up of the crust occurred about 10 million years ago with large blocks moving and more volcanic lava flows, which created the mountains and block fault valleys of recent time.
The landscape of today is not from mountain building but from the forces of
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...
such as wind, water, and past
glaciation
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...
.
Lakes and waterways
There are several lakes in the wilderness: Patterson, Mosquito, South Emerson, North Emerson, Clear Lake, Cottonwood, Cougar, Linderman, and Irons.
Patterson Lake is the largest, highest in elevation and most visited. It also has a self-sustaining population of
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...
.
Major streams draining the range are Poison Creek, Mill Creek, Parker Creek, and on the east side, Eagle Creek.
Flora and fauna
The rich volcanic soils support dense stands of
western juniper
''Juniperus occidentalis'', known as the western juniper, is a shrub or tree native to the Western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of and rarely down to . It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because it is a wides ...
,
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 ...
,
Jeffrey pine, and
white fir
''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain ranges ...
trees. At the highest elevations are
lodgepole pine
''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...
,
whitebark pine
''Pinus albicaulis'', known by the common names whitebark pine, white bark pine, white pine, pitch pine, scrub pine, and creeping pine, is a conifer tree native to the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically subalpine ...
, fields of
sagebrush
Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west.
Following is an al ...
and
bitterbrush. Many species of rare plants are protected in the South Warner Wilderness, a few of which are perennial wildflowers such as
tufted saxifrage (''Saxifraga cespitosa'') and
High Sierra phlox (''Phlox dispersa''). Annuals include
Cusick's monkeyflower (''Mimulus cusickii''). A notable rare shrub is the native
western black currant (''Ribes hudsonianum'' var. ''petiolare''), which grows in wetland/riparian habitat, blooms from May through July, and has less than five documented occurrences in the state.
Wildlife include
Rocky Mountain mule deer, also
mountain lion
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...
s,
beaver,
bobcat,
coyote and
martens
A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...
.
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 ...
s are very rare but present. The wilderness is on the path of the
Pacific Flyway
The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...
.
Recreation
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 ...
is the most popular activity, both day hikes and
backpacking
Backpacking may refer to:
* Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel
* Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness
* Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...
, with
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, horseback riding,
snowshoeing, and
cross-country skiing making up the remainder.
Dramatic views from the crest include
Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta ( Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of , it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades ...
in the west,
Modoc Plateau
__NOTOC__
The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. Nearly of the Modoc National Forest are on the plateau between the Medicine Lake Highlands in the west and the Warner Mountains in the ...
to the north, Surprise Valley in the Great Basin in the east and in the south, the
Sierra Nevada range.
There are of trails within the wilderness area, plus unmaintained pathways adding another . There are eight trailheads surrounding the wilderness and five campgrounds. Pepperdine Trailhead offers corrals for horses and stock parties.
The Forest Service and many organizations encourage the practice of
Leave No Trace principles of outdoor travel to minimize human impact on the environment.
Footnotes
References
* Adkison, Ron, ''Wild Northern California'' The Globe Pequot Press, 2001
External links
Modoc National Forest official website, South Warner Wilderness sectionThe Bureau of Land Management's Leave No Trace training page
{{Authority control
Protected areas of Modoc County, California
Wilderness areas of California
Modoc National Forest
Protected areas established in 1964
1964 establishments in California