The Mountain Lakes Wilderness is a
wilderness area
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...
located in the
Fremont–Winema National Forest
The Fremont–Winema National Forest is a United States National Forest formed from the 2002 merger of the Fremont and Winema National Forests. They cover territory in southern Oregon from the crest of the Cascade Range on the west past the c ...
in the southern
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...
of
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It surrounds a cluster of four overlapping
shield volcano
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava ...
es, the highest of which is
Aspen Butte. Over 20 small lakes lie along the bottoms of several large
cirque
A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...
s carved by
Ice Age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
s near the summits of the volcanoes.
The Mountain Lakes Wilderness is unique among
United States wilderness areas in that it is the only one whose borders form a square, occupying the area of a single
survey township
A survey township, sometimes called a Congressional township or just township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System and by Canada's Dominion Land Survey is a nominally-square area of land that is nominally six survey miles (a ...
.
Recreation
Popular recreational activities in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness include hiking, cross-country skiing, camping, and fishing. Fish species are stocked in lakes every other year. Both
brook and
rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...
are stocked in Harriette, Como, and West Lakes. Mystic, Paragon, and South Pass Lakes are only stocked with brook trout.
Mountain Lakes Wilderness, Oregon
- GORP This Wilderness can be accessed by 3 different trails. The Trails are Clover Creek, Mountain Lakes, and Varney Creek.
Trails
Clover Creek Trail
(4 Miles)
Mountain Lakes Trail
(6.5 Miles)
Varney Creek Trail
(4.5 Miles)
See also
* List of Oregon Wildernesses
* List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
* 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 ...
USFS
References
*
External links
Fremont–Winema National Forest: Mountain Lakes Wilderness
(official USFS site) The story of the geological origin of the Mountain Lakes Wilderness presented on the USFS site is not correct; see the reference above (Carver, 1972) for an accurate geological history.
- GORP
Mountain Lakes Wilderness Air Resource Management Data
Cascade Range
Wilderness areas of Oregon
Protected areas of Klamath County, Oregon
Fremont–Winema National Forest
1964 establishments in Oregon
Protected areas established in 1964
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