Archive:Caribou Wilderness

Caribou Wilderness, Lassen National Forest, California

Template:Infobox protected area The Caribou Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area created by the Wilderness Act of 1964 and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. It is located 60 miles east of Redding in the state of California, USA. The Caribou Wilderness comprises 20,625 acres and is adjacent to the east side of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Both the park and the wilderness are within the Lassen National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service manages the wilderness.

Elevations range from 6,400 feet to 8,374 feet (ft).

The terrain is a volcanic plateau with 75% covered by water and conifer forests and the remainder being barren rock such as cliff faces, talus slopes and cinder cones. Most of this area has been preserved since 1932 which makes the Caribou Wilderness one of the few remaining pristine forests of the California Cascade region. There are 23 named lakes, inumerable unnamed ponds and tarns, cinder cones and volcanic buttes within the wilderness. Although there are no year round surface streams, the area provides high quality water for the headwaters of the Susan River, and Bailey Creek, a tributary of the Feather River. The high point is Red Cinder(8,374 ft) located near the boundary between the wilderness and the park. Other peaks are North Caribou (7,784 ft), South Caribou ( 7,757 ft) and Black Butte in the northeast at 7,884 ft.

Recreational activities include day hiking, backpacking, fishing, horseback riding, cross-country skiing and nature photography.

Three trailheads give access to the wilderness; Hay Meadows in the south, Cone Lake in the north and Silver Lake on the east which is also the most popular entry point. Travel by foot or horseback is easy because the landscape has only moderate hills and valleys. No wilderness permits are required, only a California campfire permit for open fires.

Flora and fauna

The forest is lodgepole pine, Jeffrey pine, white and red fir, western white pine, and hemlock. The larger lakes support brook and rainbow trout. Black-tailed deer and black bears along with squirrels, chipmunks, and the protected (from hunting) pine marten live here. There are bald eagles and ospreys overhead, mergansers and grebes on the ponds and lakes.

Area history

Much of the volcanic plateau of the wilderness had been set aside since 1932 as a "primitive area".

References

Adkinson, Ron Wild Northern California The Globe Piquet Press, 2001

External links

Wilderness.net's page on the Caribou Wilderness. accessed 18 July 2008