The Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness is a protected
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 within the
Okanogan and
Wenatchee
Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...
national forests in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
State. The wilderness borders
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area is a national recreation area located about south of the Canada–US border in Chelan County, Washington. It encompasses an area of including the northern end of Lake Chelan and the surrounding area of the ...
and
North Cascades National Park and the
Stephen Mather Wilderness to the northwest.
[ It was designated with the passage of the Washington Wilderness Act of 1984, on lands occupied by the old Chelan Division of the Washington Forest Reserve, now part of both the Okanogan and Wenatchee national forests.][
]
Habitat
There are 63 lakes, many too small to have ever been named, often located in the high country without trail access. The wilderness encompasses a diverse mixture of dense forest, meadows, alpine slopes, geology, and high country. The open forest below tree line is home to bears and mule deer. Snow often covers much of the area from mid or late October through late June.[
]
Trails
Approximately 194 miles of trails traverse the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness. Trails tend to be steady climbs into high basins and glacial cirques with lakes. The south facing portion of the range has more open, rolling high country that falls off very steeply into the Lake Chelan
Lake Chelan ( ) is a narrow, long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S. Before 1927, it was the largest natural lake in the state by any measure. Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake w ...
valley. All trailheads on the south side, on Lake Chelan, must be gained via a regularly scheduled ferry boat or a private craft. Trails entering from the west first cross North Cascades National Park or Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.[
]
See also
* List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 803 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies:
*United States National Park Service (NPS)
*United States Forest Service (USFS)
*United States Fish and Wild ...
* Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...
References
External links
Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness
U.S. Forest Service
Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness
Wilderness.net (The University of Montana)
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Protected areas of Chelan County, Washington
IUCN Category Ib
North Cascades of Washington (state)
Protected areas of Okanogan County, Washington
Wilderness areas of Washington (state)
Wenatchee National Forest
Okanogan National Forest
1984 establishments in Washington (state)
Protected areas established in 1984