Emigrant Wilderness

Emigrant Wilderness
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
Lake Lertoria, Emigrant Wilderness
Location	Tuolumne County, California, USA
Nearest city	Merced, CA
Coordinates	38°11′07″N 119°45′53″W / 38.18528°N 119.76472°W / 38.18528; -119.76472Coordinates: 38°11′07″N 119°45′53″W / 38.18528°N 119.76472°W / 38.18528; -119.76472
Area	112,277 acres (454.37 km2)
Established	January 1, 1974
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service

The Emigrant Wilderness of Stanislaus National Forest is a wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada. It is bordered by Yosemite National Park on the south, the Toiyabe National Forest and the Hoover Wilderness on the east, and State Route 108 over Sonora Pass on the north. It is an elongated area that extends northeast about 25 miles (40 km) in length and up to 15 miles (24 km) in width. Watersheds drain to the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers. This area is entirely within Tuolumne County, California and is approximately 140 miles (230 km) east of San Francisco, California and 50 miles (80 km) south of Lake Tahoe.

The Emigrant Wilderness is a glaciated landscape of scenic beauty. The northeastern third of the Wilderness is dominated by volcanic ridges and peaks; the remaining areas consist of many sparsely vegetated, granitic ridges interspersed with numerous lakes and meadows. To see that contrast, compare the red volcanic rock in the image of Emigrant Meadow (below Right) with the granite in the other images. Elevations range from below 5,000 feet (1,500 m) near Cherry Reservoir to 11,570 feet (3,527 m) at Leavitt Peak, but the elevation range of most of the popular areas is 7,500 to 9,000 feet (2,300 to 2,700 m). Precipitation averages 50 inches (1,300 mm) annually, 80% of it in the form of snow. Snowpacks typically linger into June, sometimes later following very wet winters. Summers are generally dry and mild, but afternoon thundershowers occur periodically and nighttime temperatures could dip below freezing anytime.

Various native peoples occupied this area for 10,000 years, spending the summer and early autumn hunting in the high country and trading with groups from the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. The most recent groups were the Sierra Miwok of the western slope and Piute of the Great Basin.