Ellicott Rock Wilderness
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Ellicott Rock Wilderness is a wild area lying at and around the tripoint of
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, and
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, spanning 8,274 acres. It is managed by the
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
and is part of the
National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federal government of the United States, federally managed Wilderness, wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally ...
.


History

The area was first identified in 1966. It was then designated by Congress in 1975 with the
Eastern Wilderness Act The Eastern Wilderness Areas Act () was signed into law by President Gerald Ford on January 3, 1975. The Act designated 16 new wilderness areas in the Eastern United States, including of wilderness on national lands in 13 states ...
. Additional lands were added to Ellicott Rock Wilderness in 1984 with the passing of the and the , today designated wilderness totals . In 1979, all Forest Service land was surveyed under the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE II) and on the Sumter National Forest (adjacent to the existing wilderness) were classified as Roadless National Forest System land and named Ellicott Rock Extension. The Andrew Pickens Ranger district on the Sumter National Forest recommended the Ellicott Rock Extension as wilderness in 1995 in their Resource Management Plan. Although not fully designated, recommended wilderness is managed as if it were designated wilderness. In June 2017 during a land management plan revision, the Nantahala Ranger District on the Nantahala National Forest added of proposed wilderness, currently called Ellicott Rock West Extension.


Naming

Ellicott Rock Wilderness is named for “Ellicott's Rock,” a rock where all three states come together, on the east bank of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River on which surveyor Major Andrew Ellicott chiseled a mark in 1811 to determine the border between Georgia and North Carolina. Major Ellicott, a well-respected, sought-after surveyor, astronomer, and mathematician, was hired by the state of Georgia to ground-truth the 35th parallel and settle a border dispute between Georgia and North Carolina. The task proved long and arduous, saw difficult terrain, and the location was not accessible by horse. On December 26 with severe weather and limited food, Major Ellicott calculated the 35th parallel and inscribed the letters "N-G" on a rock along the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River. This put the Georgia-North Carolina border approximately 18 miles south of what Georgia claimed at the time. Due to Georgia's unfavorable results, Major Ellicott went unpaid for over a year and was ultimately paid a tiny fraction of the salary promised. Two years later, a group of commissioners representing both North and South Carolina set out to verify the location of Ellicott's Rock. The commissioners carved a second rock (approximately 10 feet north of Ellicott's Rock) with the inscription "Lat 35 AD 1813 NC + SC" to mark where the North Carolina and South Carolina state lines joined. This second rock is commonly referred to as Ellicott's Rock though more accurately it is named Commissioner's Rock. Commissioner's Rock was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1973.


Geography

Ellicott Rock Wilderness is the only wilderness that straddles three states, with boundaries located around the point at which
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, and
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
come together. Ellicott Rock Wilderness also spans three National Forests.
Sumter National Forest The Sumter National Forest is one of two forests in South Carolina that are managed together by the United States Forest Service, the other being the Francis Marion National Forest. The Sumter National Forest consists of which are divided into ...
in South Carolina is responsible for , receives the majority of recreation in the wilderness, and is also the lead manager of Ellicott Rock Wilderness.
Nantahala National Forest The Nantahala National Forest () is the largest of the four national forests in North Carolina, lying in the mountains and valleys of western North Carolina. The Nantahala is the second wettest region in the Continental US, after the Pacific Nor ...
in North Carolina is responsible for most of the wilderness at and the
Chattahoochee National Forest The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a rela ...
in Georgia manages of the wilderness.


Access

Three roads provide access to the proposed "Ellicott Rock Addition": Forest Development Road 646 and County Road 122 from the south, and County Road 121 from the west. Hiking is the only way one can access the interior of the park.


Trails

The wilderness contains six trails: * Chattooga River Trail * Ellicott Rock Trail * Bad Creek Trail * Sloan Bridge Trail * East Fork Trail * Foothills Trail


Flora and fauna

The "Ellicott Rock Addition"'s soils are of the Tusquitee-Edneyville-Porters soil group. The area's plant life includes
white oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...
,
red oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...
,
hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...
, upland hardwood,
white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...
, and cove hardwoods. Wildlife in the area include migratory songbirds, deer, turkeys, bears, trout, box turtles, common garter snakes, and timber rattlesnakes.


Chattooga Wild and Scenic River

One notable landmark in the Ellicott Rock Wilderness is the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River, which runs . The Chattooga Wild and Scenic River bisects Ellicott Rock Wilderness, running through the heart of the wilderness. Made famous more than 45 years ago from the book and later movie,
Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...
, the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River is a prized feature among visitors to Ellicott Rock Wilderness. Many people can be found along the River enjoying the water, fishing, camping, and boating. There is a strong cultural tie to recreation uses along this river and it maintains a special place in the hearts of its frequent visitors.


Mountains, terrains, and waterfalls

Ellicott Rock Wilderness is located in the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a sub-mountain range of the Appalachian Mountains. It has a temperate climate with an average rainfall of 80 inches per year creating a dense forest with steep, rugged terrain. Embedded throughout the wilderness landscape are a variety of hardwood trees (creating breathtaking scenes come fall), white pines, and hemlocks with bountiful water sources including a couple waterfalls. One popular waterfall, Spoonauger Falls, is located on the Chattooga River Trail, a short quarter-mile hike from the trailhead located on Burrell's Ford road. The Wilderness is home to
Glade Mountain Glade Mountain, elevation , is the highest point in the Ellicott Rock Wilderness, which straddles Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It is also in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Rabun County, Georgia Rabun County () is the ...
of Georgia standing at an
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of and Fork Mountain of South Carolina at an elevation of . The watershed surrounding the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River is one of the most biologically diverse in the country. The wonderful array of sights, sounds, and smells of the wild flora and fauna bring Ellicott Rock Wilderness to life.


Recreation

A variety of recreation occurs in Ellicott Rock Wilderness including hiking, camping, backpacking, fishing, hunting, kayaking, and orienteering. The Wilderness supports approximately 18 miles of designated terrestrial trails. South Carolina trails include Chattooga River Trail, East Fork Trail, Foothills Connector Trail, and a majority of the Fork Mountain Trail. North Carolina has one trail, Ellicott Rock Trail, with two trailheads along Bull Creek Road and a big river crossing in the middle. Georgia does not maintain any trails. While there are no officially designated campsites in Ellicott Rock Wilderness yet, many unofficial campsites occur along the trails, particularly along the Chattooga River trail. Unofficial campsites are primitive with no amenities.


See also

*
List of U.S. Wilderness Areas The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 806 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies: *National Park Service (NPS) *United States Forest Service (USFS) *United States Fish and Wildlife Service ...
*
Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () is a federal land management statute meant to protect U.S. Wilderness Area, federal wilderness and to create a formal mechanism for designating wilderness. It was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Socie ...


References


External links


US Forest Service entry for Ellicott Rock Wilderness

Wilderness Connect entry for the Ellicott Rock WildernessMap of Ellicott Rock WildernessHiking the Appalachians and Beyond entry for Ellicott Rock Wilderness



TopoQuest Map showing location of Ellicott Rock
{{Authority control Wilderness areas of Georgia (U.S. state) Wilderness areas of South Carolina Wilderness areas of North Carolina IUCN Category Ib Wilderness areas of the Appalachians Protected areas of Jackson County, North Carolina Protected areas of Macon County, North Carolina Protected areas of Rabun County, Georgia Protected areas of Oconee County, South Carolina Sumter National Forest Protected areas established in 1975 Nantahala National Forest Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest