El Dorado National Forest

Eldorado National Forest
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
Location	El Dorado, Amador, Alpine, Placer counties, California, and Douglas County, Nevada, United States
Nearest city	Placerville, CA
Coordinates	38°45′N 120°20′W / 38.750°N 120.333°W / 38.750; -120.333Coordinates: 38°45′N 120°20′W / 38.750°N 120.333°W / 38.750; -120.333
Area	596,724 acres (2,414.86 km2)
Established	July 28, 1910
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service
Website	Eldorado National Forest

Eldorado National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range, in eastern California.

Most of the forest (72.8%) lies in El Dorado County. In descending order of land area the others counties are: Amador, Alpine, and Placer counties in California; and Douglas County in Nevada with 78 acres (320,000 m²). The forest is bordered on the north by the Tahoe National Forest, on the east by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, on the southeast by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, and to the south by the Stanislaus National Forest.

Eldorado National Forest headquarters are located in Placerville, California. There are local ranger district offices in Camino, Georgetown, Pioneer, and Pollock Pines.

A complicated ownership pattern exists. The parcels of Other Ownership (private or other Agency land) are mostly isolated and surrounded on all sides by government land. An opposite pattern occurs outside of the Forest Boundary where several small scattered pieces of National Forest lands are separated from the main body and surrounded by lands of Other Ownership.

The Forest ranges in elevation from 1,000 feet (300 m) in the foothills to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above sea level along the Sierra crest. The mountainous topography is broken by the steep canyons of the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, American, and Rubicon rivers. Plateaus of generally moderate relief are located between these steep canyons.