Salmon–Challis National Forest is located in east central sections of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. At 4,235,940

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s (6,618.66 sq mi, or 17,142.24 km²) it is one of the largest

national forests National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...

in the

lower 48 states The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The ter ...

and also has most of the land area of the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, which is the largest wilderness area south of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Borah Peak Borah Peak, also known as Mount Borah or Beauty Peak, is a mountain in the western United States and the highest summit in Idaho. One of the most prominent peaks in the contiguous United States, it is located in the central section of the Lost ...

, the tallest mountain in Idaho, is also found here. The

Wild and Scenic Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildlife, an undomesticated organism * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild ...

designated Salmon River weaves through the rugged terrain of the Sawtooth Mountains and

Sawtooth National Recreation Area The Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) is a national recreation area in central Idaho, United States that is managed as part of Sawtooth National Forest. The recreation area, established on August 22, 1972, is managed by the U.S. Forest S ...

, while it flows for over through the forest. The

Big Lost River The Big Lost River is a major river in the U.S. state of Idaho, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 4, 2011 Description The river starts in the Rocky Mounta ...

has its headwaters within the national forest. Challis National Forest, the more southerly of its two parts, lies primarily in Custer County, but also has major areas in Lemhi and

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

counties, as well as smaller areas in

Clark Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...

and Blaine counties. It has a total area of 2,463,471 acres (3,849.17 sq mi, or 9,969.31 km²). There are local ranger district offices located in Challis, Clayton, and Mackay. Salmon National Forest, which lies to the north, is primarily located in Lemhi County, with spillover into

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

and

counties. It has a total area of 1,772,469 acres (2,769.48 sq mi, or 7,172.93 km²). There are local ranger district offices located in Leadore, North Fork, and

Salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

. The combined forest headquarters are located in Salmon, Idaho.

Climate

There is a weather station at Middle Fork Lodge, which is on the western edge of Salmon–Challis National Forest.

Wilderness areas

There are two officially designated

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

s within Salmon–Challis National Forest that are part of the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federal government of the United States, federally managed Wilderness, wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally ...

. Both extend into neighboring National Forests or onto lands of the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

. * Frank Church—River of No Return Wilderness (partly in Payette NF, Boise NF, Bitterroot NF, Nez Perce NF, or BLM land). The Salmon–Challis NF is the largest component (39.59%) of this wilderness if they are considered as one forest; otherwise, if the Challis NF and the Salmon NF are considered separately, the Payette NF (33.45%) becomes the largest component. * Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Wilderness (most is managed by Salmon–Challis National Forest, while part is managed by the

) *

Sawtooth Wilderness The Sawtooth Wilderness is a Federal Government of the United States, federally-protected area, protected wilderness area that covers of the U.S. state, state of Idaho. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the United States Department of Agri ...

(only about 5.5% of this wilderness lies with Salmon–Challis NF; most of it lies within Boise NF; part of it lies within Sawtooth NF; all of it is managed by Sawtooth National Forest)Sawtooth Wilderness acreage breakdown, Wilderness.net
/ref>

References

External links

*
Salmon–Challis National Forest federal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon-Challis National Forest National forests of Idaho National forests of the Rocky Mountains Protected areas of Custer County, Idaho Protected areas of Lemhi County, Idaho Protected areas of Butte County, Idaho Protected areas of Clark County, Idaho Protected areas of Blaine County, Idaho Protected areas of Valley County, Idaho Protected areas of Idaho County, Idaho

Climate

Wilderness areas

See also

References

External links