The Kiavah Wilderness is a federally designated

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 ...

located in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

, Scodie Mountains, and southern Sierra Nevada in

Kern County, California Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county s ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

California State Route 178 State Route 178 (SR 178) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that exists in two constructed segments. The gap in between segments is connected by various local roads and State Route 190 through Death Valley National Park. The w ...

connects the town of

Lake Isabella Lake Isabella also called Isabella Lake, is a reservoir in Kern County, California, United States created by the earthen Isabella Dam. It was formed in 1953 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Kern River at the junction of its two f ...

to State Highway 14 in the east, crossing

Walker Pass Walker Pass (el. ) is a mountain pass by Lake Isabella in the southern Sierra Nevada. It is located in northeastern Kern County, approximately 53 mi (85 km) ENE of Bakersfield and 10 mi (16 km) WNW of Ridgecrest. The pass pr ...

at the north boundary of the wilderness. The Kiavah Wilderness was created in 1994 with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act ( Public Law 103–433), is jointly managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and is mostly within the

Sequoia National Forest Sequoia National Forest is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The U.S. National Forest is named for the majestic Giant Sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees which populate 38 distinct groves within the boundari ...

. This wilderness is part of the National Cooperative Land and Wildlife Management Area and the BLM's Jawbone–Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which was designated to protect critical wildlife and Native American values.

Geography

It is located west of

Inyokern Inyokern (formerly Siding 16 and Magnolia) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Its name derives from its location near the border between Inyo and Kern Counties. Inyokern is located west of Ridgecrest, a ...

and northeast of Bakersfield. There are of wilderness and of partially roaded nonwilderness.Adkinson, Ron. ''Wild Northern California''. The Globe Pequot Press, 2001 Located on a broad plateau rising immediately south of Walker Pass in the southern Sierra Nevada, are the Scodie Mountains. The highest peaks are Skinner Peak (7,073 ft) in the south and Pinyon Peak (6,768 ft) in the north. Many canyons cut through the flanks of the plateau except in the north, which has an abrupt escarpment. Three seasonal

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

s flow from the slope of the plateau: Yellowjacket,

McIvers McIvers is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 575 in the Canada 2021 Census. The town celebrated its Come Home Year in 2017, following a successful Chase the Ace fundraiser the previous y ...

and Willow Springs. Other springs flow from the canyon folds.

Flora and fauna

Flora

The wilderness encompasses the eroded hills, canyons and

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...

s-bajadas of the Scodie Mountains Unit within the Sequoia National Forest—the southern extremity of the Sierra Nevada. A unique mixing of several different species of plants and animals occurs within the transition zone between the Mojave Desert and Sierra Nevada. The Kiavah Wilderness is one of only two protected areas that support a significant woodland of pinyon-juniper in California. Other plant life include Mormon tea,

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an al ...

, creosote, burrobush and shadscale,

pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple food of Native Americans, and widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in Ne ...

, juniper, canyon oak, grey pine and

Joshua tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

s. Spring wildflower displays are from April to June. A rare and

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

wildflower, the Walker Pass milkvetch (''Astragalus ertterae'') of the pea family, grows within the Pinyon-Juniper woodland. It grows in the sandy-loamy to granitic soils associated with pinyon pines and canyon live oaks. It is primarily found on west-facing slopes from elevation. The Walker Pass milkvetch was first described in 1987 from a collection made in 1982 along a newly constructed section of 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 ...

. There are fewer than 10 populations of this perennial herb, all of which are located in Kern County. Very little information is known about this plant, nor is it listed under state or federal endangered species laws. "If this plant truly is as rare as presently believed, it is crucial that all existing populations be protected." said M. Elvin of the Bureau of Land Management.

Fauna

The semiarid conditions with few reliable water sources restrict wildlife habitat. The U.S. Forest Service has installed water guzzlers and springs to increase water supply for the small number of

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

as well as mountain quail and

California quail The California quail (''Callipepla californica''), also known as the California valley quail or Valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest or '' plume'', made of six feathers, tha ...

(or Valley quail). The rough-legged hawk,

yellow-headed blackbird The yellow-headed blackbird (''Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus'') is a medium-sized blackbird with a yellow head. It is the only member of the genus ''Xanthocephalus''. Description Measurements: * Length: 8.3-10.2 in (21-26 cm) * Weight: ...

, gray-crowned rosy

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

, and sage sparrow have also been seen here.

Recreation

Activities in the wilderness include day-

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, backpacking, pinyon nut gathering, and

nature photography Nature photography is a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures. Nature photography tends to put a stronger emphasis o ...

. Most of the recreation is concentrated along forest road 27S11 in the southeast where off-highway vehicles are frequent. McIver's Cabin is a popular destination. The

travels the length of the wilderness for . The other major trail is the Cholla Canyon Trail with a length of over and passes three seasonal springs en route.

References

External links

* Official '
Kiavah Wilderness Area website/
''
BLM Kiavah Wilderness Map

The Bureau of Land Management's Leave No Trace training page

Map of roadless areas-Sequoia National Forest
{{authority control Wilderness areas of California Protected areas of Kern County, California Protected areas of the Mojave Desert Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Kern River Valley Sequoia National Forest Bureau of Land Management areas in California 1994 establishments in California Protected areas established in 1994