The Carson–Iceberg Wilderness is a federal

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 northeast of Stockton, California. It encompasses and was designated by the

California Wilderness Act of 1984 The California Wilderness Act of 1984 is a federal law (Public Law 98-425), passed by the United States Congress on September 28, 1984, that authorized the addition of over within the state of California to the National Wilderness Preservation ...

. It protects an area of High Sierra landscape with elevations from to along the Sierra Mountains from Ebbetts Pass to

Sonora Pass Sonora Pass (el. 9,624 ft. / 2,933 m.) is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada in California. It is the second-highest in California and in the Sierra Nevada. lower by 321 ft. (about 98 m.) than Tioga Pass to the south. State Route 108 ...

in the south. The

US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

manages the wilderness which is in both the

Stanislaus National Forest Stanislaus National Forest is a U.S. National Forest which manages of land in four counties in the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. It was established on February 22, 1897, making it one of the oldest national forests. It was named after t ...

and the

Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest The Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest (HTNF) is the principal U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Nevada, and has a smaller portion in Eastern California. With an area of , it is the largest U.S. National Forest outside of Alaska. Hi ...

. Located in the wilderness are the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition Th ...

of the

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five counties: Alpine County ...

draining the east side of the crest, as well as the North and Middle Forks of the Stanislaus River on the west slopes. The name Carson–Iceberg comes from two prominent geographical features: the Carson River (named for noted scout and explorer

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

) and the distinctive granite formation called "The Iceberg" on the southern boundary near Clark Fork Road. Historical highlights:

Jedediah Smith Jedediah Strong Smith (January 6, 1799 – May 27, 1831) was an American clerk, transcontinental pioneer, frontiersman, hunter, trapper, author, cartographer, mountain man and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the Western United States, and ...

crossed the Sierra Nevada Range near Ebbetts Pass sometime in 1827, and the first immigrant party of Bartleson–Bidwell crossed over in 1841 near Sonora Pass. The wilderness supports large herds 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 whit ...

and there is also good habitat for

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations grou ...

, which have become a problem due to an insatiable appetite for backpackers' food.Akinson, p.146 The

forest cover Forest cover is the amount of forest that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/ square miles). Around a third of the world's surface is covered with forest, with closed-cano ...

consists of

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 subalp ...

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 Calif ...

, aspen,

Sierra juniper Sierra juniper is a common name for several species of juniper and may refer to: *''Juniperus grandis'', endemic to the western United States *''Juniperus occidentalis ''Juniperus occidentalis'', known as the western juniper, is a shrub or tree ...

and curl-leaf mountain mahogany.

Paiute cutthroat trout

The Carson–Iceberg Wilderness supports a native population of the only

Paiute cutthroat trout Paiute cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii seleniris'') is one of fourteen subspecies of cutthroat trout. Paiute Cutthroat are native only to Silver King Creek, a headwater tributary of the Carson River in the Sierra Nevada, in California. ...

in existence in the drainages of Silver King Creek, a tributary of the East Fork Carson River. They were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 and upgraded to threatened status in 1973 with the passage of the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...

(ESA) which allowed regulated fishing of the Paiute. Historically, the

US Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with o ...

believe the Paiute trout only occupied the Silver King Creek and its tributaries below the barrier of LLewellyn Falls, and around 1912 were introduced to other streams where the Paiute hybridized with the Lahonton and rainbow trout species. The "revised recovery plan" by the US Fish and Wildlife Service seeks to remove nonnative fish from the environment, protect habitat for the current populations of Paiute trout, both within the historical range of the Silver King Creek watershed and the other streams in the region, such as North Fork Cottonwood Creek, and lastly, to study the Paiute trout to better understand the population trends. The main distinguishing characteristic is the lack of spots on the body. The closely related

Lahontan cutthroat trout Lahontan cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi'') is the largest subspecies of cutthroat trout, and the state fish of Nevada. It is one of three subspecies of cutthroat trout that are listed as federally threatened. Natural history ...

has between 50 and 100 spots whereas the Paiute may have up to nine, but rarely more than five. The Paiute trout require a habitat of clean, well-oxygenated, moving water with gravel bottoms and quiet pools near riparian zones. They reach maturity in 2 years, spawn during June and July with eggs hatching in 6–8 weeks and the fry emerging from the gravel in 2–3 weeks. The rate of growth depends on water temperature and food access, with the Silver King Creek Paiute having been measured at 13.5 inches. Predators include the water shrew and the dipper, a bird that can go underwater to feed. Humans impact the Paiute trout as the fish show a lack of wariness to anglers, possibly because of the high elevation environment and lack of predators. Serious population declines have occurred from moderate to light fishing of the trout. Also in the Silver King Creek watershed are the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog,

mountain yellow-legged frog The mountain yellow-legged frog (''Rana muscosa''), also known as the southern mountain yellow-legged frog, is a species of true frog endemic to California in the United States. It occurs in the San Jacinto Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains, ...

and the

Yosemite toad The Yosemite toad (''Anaxyrus canorus'', formerly ''Bufo canorus'') is a species of true toad in the family Bufonidae. Endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, the species ranges from the Alpine County to Fresno County. Yosemite toads are o ...

Permits

A permit is required from May to October for overnight visits into the wilderness but can be used to visit more than one wilderness area in a single trip. There is a limit of 15 people and 25 stock in the wilderness. Leave No Trace methods of wilderness travel are highly encouraged by the US Forest Service.

Climate

Here is an example of climate trends that can be seen in the wilderness at about 7800 feet.

Footnotes

References

*Adkinson, Ron ''Wild Northern California''. The Globe Pequot Press, 2001
USGS

External links

Stanislaus National Forest official website, Carson–Iceberg Wilderness page

Official Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest Protected areas of Alpine County, California Protected areas of Tuolumne County, California Wilderness areas of California Stanislaus National Forest Protected areas established in 1984 1984 establishments in California