Wonder Mountain Wilderness is a 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 ...

encompassing Wonder Mountain in the

Olympic National Forest Olympic National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington, USA. With an area of , it nearly surrounds Olympic National Park and the Olympic Mountain range. Olympic National Forest contains parts of Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferso ...

on the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The wilderness comprises bordering

Olympic National Park Olympic National Park is a United States national park located in the State of Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the drier ...

and administered by the

U.S. 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 in ...

. Wonder Mountain Wilderness is roughly triangle-shaped. A high ridge encompasses the southern point of the triangle, rising to the peak of Wonder Mountain. Below the summit stands a heavy forest of

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 ...

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 ...

, and

silver fir Silver fir is a common name for several trees and may refer to: *''Abies alba ''Abies alba'', the European silver fir or silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Car ...

Alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

, and

vine maple ''Acer circinatum'', the vine maple, is a species of maple native to western North America. Description It most commonly grows as a large shrub growing to around tall, but it will occasionally form a small to medium-sized tree, exceptionall ...

grow along McKay Creek and Five Stream, both of which have their headwaters in the wilderness.

huckleberry Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a Nort ...

and

thimbleberry ''Rubus parviflorus'', commonly called thimbleberry, (also known as redcaps) is a species of ''Rubus'' native to northern temperate regions of North America. The plant has large hairy leaves and no thorns. It bears edible red fruit similar in a ...

are also common.

History

In 1984, the

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

established five wilderness areas within Olympic National Forest: *

Buckhorn Wilderness The Buckhorn Wilderness is a mountainous U.S. Wilderness Area, wilderness area on the northeastern Olympic Peninsula in Washington (state), Washington, United States, USA. Named after Buckhorn Mountain (), the wilderness abuts the eastern bounda ...

Colonel Bob Wilderness Colonel Bob Wilderness is a protected area located in the southwest corner of Olympic National Forest in the state of Washington. It is named after 19th-century orator Robert Green Ingersoll. Lake Quinault lies about 15 miles to the west. Eleva ...

Mount Skokomish Wilderness Mount Skokomish Wilderness is a designated wilderness area in the southeast portion of Olympic National Forest on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington in the United States. The wilderness area comprises administered by the U.S. Forest Service. H ...

The Brothers Wilderness The Brothers Wilderness is a designated wilderness area located in the Olympic National Forest on the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula south of Buckhorn Wilderness and north of Mount Skokomish Wilderness. The wilderness area comprises admin ...

* Wonder Mountain Wilderness Wonder Mountain Wilderness sits along the southern flank of the

Olympic Wilderness Olympic National Park is a United States national park located in the State of Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the dri ...

, which was created in 1988.

Recreation

There are no trails leading into or through Wonder Mountain Wilderness. Two forest roads that run near the southeast and southwest borders are closed to motor vehicles from October to May to provide protection for wildlife. The southeast road has been permanently closed at the lake Cushman bridge for years about ten miles from the base of wonder mountain. The wilderness starts at the top of the ridge line. This route is not accessible.

References

External links

Wonder Mountain Wilderness
U.S. Forest Service
Wonder Mountain Wilderness
Wilderness.net (The University of Montana) {{Protected Areas of Washington IUCN Category Ib Protected areas of Mason County, Washington Wilderness areas of Washington (state) Olympic Mountains Olympic National Forest

History

Recreation

See also

References

External links