Trinity Alps Wilderness | |
---|---|
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
|
|
55 alpine lakes dot the Trinity Alps Wilderness
|
|
Location | Trinity / Siskiyou / Humboldt counties, California, United States |
Coordinates | 41°01′00″N 123°05′10″W / 41.01667°N 123.08611°WCoordinates: 41°01′00″N 123°05′10″W / 41.01667°N 123.08611°W |
Area | 525,627 acres (2,127.14 km2) |
Established | 1984 |
Governing body | U.S. Forest Service / Bureau of Land Management |
The Trinity Alps Wilderness is a 525,627-acre (2,130 km2) designated wilderness located in northern California, roughly between Eureka and Redding. It is jointly administered by Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Six Rivers National Forests. About 4,623 acres (18.71 km2) are administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The wilderness is located in the Salmon and Scott Mountains, subranges of the Klamath Mountains region. The high, granitic and ultramafic peaks of the eastern half of the wilderness area are known as the Trinity Alps. Granite peaks at the core of the area are known as the White Trinities, reddish ultramafic peaks in the southeast are known as the Red Trinities, and the forested mountains in the western half of the wilderness are known as the Green Trinities.
The botanical diversity of the Trinity Alps is quite unique. The region has intrigued botanists for many years because of the predominance of the Sierran flora only 60 miles (97 km) from the Pacific Ocean. Conifers common in the Sierra Nevada such as foxtail pines, lodgepole pines, western white pines, whitebark pines, ponderosa pines, red firs, and white firs are also common in the Alps alongside the endemic Brewer spruce. Large wildfires swept through the western forests in recent years.