The John Muir Wilderness is a

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 ...

that extends along the crest of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

for , in the

Inyo Inyo may refer to: Places California * Inyo County, California * Inyo National Forest, USA * The Inyo Mountains * The Mono–Inyo Craters Other uses * Japanese for yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concep ...

and

Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is know ...

s. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologis ...

, it encompasses . The wilderness lies along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra from near

Mammoth Lakes Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,191, r ...

and Devils Postpile National Monument in the north, to Cottonwood Pass near

Mount Whitney Mount Whitney ( Paiute: Tumanguya; ''Too-man-i-goo-yah'') is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of . It is in East– Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and ...

in the south. The wilderness area also spans the Sierra crest north of Kings Canyon National Park, and extends on the west side of the park down to the Monarch Wilderness.

Geography and geology

The wilderness contains some of the most spectacular and highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada, with 57 peaks over in elevation. The peaks are typically made of granite from the

Sierra Nevada Batholith The Sierra Nevada Batholith is a large batholith which forms the core of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, exposed at the surface as granite. The batholith is composed of many individual masses of rock called '' plutons'', which f ...

, and are dramatically shaped by

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

action. The southernmost glacier in the United States, the Palisade Glacier, is contained within the wilderness area. Notable east-side glaciated canyons are drained by Rock, McGee and Bishop Creeks. Palisade Crest

The eastern escarpment in the wilderness rises from from base to peak, in . The Sierra crest contains peaks from in elevation, including

, the highest peak in the

continental United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

. Other notable mountains in the wilderness area include the Palisades and

Mount Humphreys Mount Humphreys is a mountain peak in the Sierra Nevada on the Fresno- Inyo county line in the U.S. state of California. It is the 13th highest peak in California (the highest peak that is not a fourteener), and the highest peak in the Bishop ar ...

Mount Muir Mount Muir is a peak in the Sierra Nevada of California, south of Mount Whitney. This peak is named in honor of Scottish-born John Muir, a famous geologist, conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club. The southernmost section of the Jo ...

is located 2 miles south of

Mount Williamson Mount Williamson, at an elevation of , is the second-highest mountain in both the Sierra Nevada range and the state of California, and the sixth-highest peak in the contiguous United States. Geography Williamson stands in the John Muir Wil ...

is the second-highest peak in the wilderness, at : it rises in one continuous sweep of granite from the floor of the Owens Valley to a peak just east of the main range.

Ecology

The John Muir Wilderness contains the largest contiguous area above in the continental United States. It contains large areas of subalpine meadows and

fellfield A fellfield or fell field comprises the environment of a slope, usually alpine or tundra, where the dynamics of frost (freeze and thaw cycles) and of wind give rise to characteristic plant forms in scree interstices. Soil dynamics The freeze-thaw ...

s above , containing stands of whitebark and

foxtail pine ''Pinus balfouriana'', the foxtail pine, is a rare high-elevation pine that is endemic to California, United States. It is closely related to the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines, in the subsection ''Balfourianae''. Descriptio ...

. From to , the wilderness is dominated by

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...

s. Below the lodgepole forest is forest dominated by

Jeffrey pine ''Pinus jeffreyi'', also known as Jeffrey pine, Jeffrey's pine, yellow pine and black pine, is a North American pine tree. It is mainly found in California, but also in the westernmost part of Nevada, southwestern Oregon, and northern Baja Califo ...

. Common animals in the wilderness include

yellow-bellied marmot The yellow-bellied marmot (''Marmota flaviventris''), also known as the rock chuck, is a large, stout-bodied ground squirrel in the marmot genus. It is one of fourteen species of marmots, and is native to mountainous regions of southwestern Ca ...

pika A pika ( or ; archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but wi ...

s, golden-mantled ground squirrels,

Clark's nutcracker Clark's nutcracker (''Nucifraga columbiana''), sometimes referred to as Clark's crow or woodpecker crow, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to the mountains of western North America. The nutcracker is an omnivore, but subsists mai ...

s, golden trout, and black bears. The wilderness area also includes California bighorn sheep zoological areas, which are set aside for the protection of the species.

Recreation

The wilderness contains of hiking trails, including the

John Muir Trail The John Muir Trail (JMT) ( Paiute: Nüümü Poyo, ''N-ue-mue Poh-yo'') is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. From the northern terminus a ...

and the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

, which run through the wilderness from north to south. The John Muir Wilderness is the second most-visited wilderness in the United States, and quotas for overnight use have been implemented on virtually all trailheads.

Lakes

* Dingleberry Lake * Disappointment Lake * Hell for Sure Lake *

Loch Leven Loch Leven may refer to: ;Bodies of water in Scotland * Loch Leven (Kinross), a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross ** Loch Leven Castle, a fortress on the loch ** William Douglas of Lochleven, later the 6th Earl of Morton * Loch Leven (Highlands ...

* Lake of the Lone Indian * Mills Lake * Nüümü Hu Hupi * Pee Wee Lake * Lake Virginia

References

External links