Dixie National Forest
Encyclopedia
United States National Forest
National Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...
in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
with headquarters in Cedar City
Cedar City, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,527 people, 6,486 households, and 4,682 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,021.8 people per square mile . There were 7,109 housing units at an average density of 353.9 per square mile...
. It occupies almost two million acres (8,000 km²) and stretches for about 170 miles (270 km) across southern Utah. The largest national forest in Utah, it straddles the divide between the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
and the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
. In descending order of forestland area it is located in parts of Garfield
Garfield County, Utah
Garfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 4,735. It was named for James A. Garfield, President of the United States in 1881. Its county seat and largest city is Panguitch.-Geography:...
, Washington
Washington County, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 90,354 people, 29,939 households, and 23,442 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 36,478 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...
, Iron
Iron County, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,779 people, 10,627 households, and 8,076 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 13,618 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...
, Kane
Kane County, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,046 people, 2,237 households, and 1,628 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile . There were 3,767 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile...
, Wayne
Wayne County, Utah
Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. It was formed from Piute County in 1892. The county gets its name from a man who served as delegate to the constitutional convention, in honor of his son who was dragged to death by a horse. As of 2000 the population was 2,509, and by...
, and Piute
Piute County, Utah
Piute County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. The population in 2000 was 1,435, and by 2005 had been estimated to decrease to 1,365. It was named for the Paiute tribe of Native Americans. The county seat is Junction and the largest city is Circleville.-Geography:According to the U.S...
counties. The majority (over 55%) of forest acreage lies in Garfield County. There are local ranger
National Park Ranger
National Park Service Rangers are among the uniformed employees charged with protecting and preserving areas set aside in the National Park System by the United States Congress and/or the President of the United States...
district offices in Cedar City, Escalante
Escalante, Utah
Escalante is a city in Garfield County, Utah, United States, along Utah Scenic Byway 12. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 818.The town was named after Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary and the first European explorer in the region...
, Panguitch
Panguitch, Utah
Panguitch is a city in and the county seat of Garfield County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,623 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Panguitch is located at ....
, St. George
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
, and Teasdale
Teasdale, Utah
Teasdale is a census-designated place in western Wayne County, Utah, United States, between the Dixie and Fishlake National Forests. The population was 191 at the 2010 census. Teasdale lies along local roads south of State Route 24, southeast of the town of Loa, the county seat of Wayne County...
.
Elevations vary from 2,800 feet (850 m) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
near St. George, Utah
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
to 11,322 feet (3,451 m) at Blue Bell Knoll on Boulder Mountain
Boulder Mountain (Utah)
Boulder Mountain in Utah, USA makes up half of the Aquarius Plateau of South Central Utah in Wayne and Garfield counties. The mountain rises to the west of Capitol Reef National Park and consists of steep slopes and cliffs with over 50,000 acres of rolling forest and meadowlands on the top...
. The southern rim of the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
, near the Colorado River, provides spectacular scenery. Colorado River canyons are made up of multi-colored cliffs and steep-walled gorges.
The Forest is divided into four geographic areas. High altitude forests in gently rolling hills characterize the Markagunt
Markagunt Plateau
The Markagunt Plateau is an plateau located in southwestern Utah between Interstate 15 and U.S. Route 89. It is one of the plateaus that make up the High Plateaus Section of the Colorado Plateau. The plateau encompasses Cedar Breaks National Monument and is part of Cedar Mountain District of...
, Paunsagunt, and Aquarius
Aquarius Plateau
The Aquarius Plateau is a physiographic region within Garfield and Wayne counties in south-central Utah. The plateau, an uplift on the much larger Colorado Plateau, is the highest in North America...
Plateaus. Boulder Mountain, one of the largest high-elevation plateaus in the United States, is dotted with hundreds of small lakes 10,000 to 11,000 feet(3,000 to 3,400 m) above sea level.
The Forest has many climatic extremes. Precipitation ranges from 10 inches (254 mm) in the lower elevations to more than 40 inches (1,016 mm) per year near Brian Head Peak(elevation: 11,307 feet / 3446 m). At the higher elevations, most of the annual precipitation falls as snow. Thunderstorms are common during July and August and produce heavy rains. In some areas, August is the wettest month of the year.
Temperature extremes can be impressive, with summer temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) near St. George and winter lows exceeding -30 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 degrees Celsius) on the plateau tops.
The vegetation of the Forest grades from sparse, desert-type plants at the lower elevations to stand of low-growing pinyon pine
Pinyon pine
The pinyon pine group grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The trees yield edible pinyon nuts, which were a staple of the Native Americans, and are still widely eaten...
and juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
dominating the mid-elevations. At the higher elevations, aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
and conifers such as pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
, spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, and fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
predominate.
The Dixie Forest Reserve was established on September 25, 1905 by the General Land Office
General Land Office
The General Land Office was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury...
. The name was derived from the local description of the warm southern part of Utah as "Dixie
Dixie
Dixie is a nickname for the Southern United States.- Origin of the name :According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origins of this nickname remain obscure. According to A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles , by Mitford M...
". In 1906 the U.S. Forest Service assumed responsibility for the lands, and on March 4, 1907 it became a National Forest. The western part of Sevier National Forest
Sevier National Forest
Sevier National Forest was established as the Sevier Forest Reserve by the U.S. Forest Service in Utah on May 12, 1905 with . It became a National Forest on March 4, 1907. On July 1, 1922 the entire forest was divided between Dixie National Forest and Powell National Forest and the name was...
was added on July 1, 1922, and all of Powell National Forest
Powell National Forest
Powell National Forest was established by the U.S. Forest Service in Utah on July 1, 1908 with the renaming of Aquarius National Forest for John Wesley Powell. On July 1, 1922 the eastern division of Sevier National Forest was added to Powell...
on October 1, 1944.
See also
- Ashdown Gorge WildernessAshdown Gorge WildernessThe Ashdown Gorge Wilderness is located in southwestern Utah, USA, within the arid Colorado Plateau region. The wilderness is within the Dixie National Forest adjacent to Cedar Breaks National Monument and characterized by extremely steep-walled canyons cut through the west rim of the Markagunt...
- Box-Death Hollow WildernessBox-Death Hollow WildernessBox-Death Hollow Wilderness is a wilderness area located in south-central Utah, USA, on the Dixie National Forest. Vertical gray-orange walls of Navajo sandstone stand above two canyon tributaries of the Escalante River in Box-Death Hollow...
- Pine Valley Mountain WildernessPine Valley Mountain WildernessPine Valley Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area located in the Dixie National Forest in the U.S. state of Utah. It is the fourth-largest wilderness area located entirely within the state...
- List of U.S. national forests
- Panguitch LakePanguitch LakePanguitch Lake was originally a large natural lake that has now been expanded by the creation of a dam to become a reservoir with a maximum surface area of . The lake, which drains into the Sevier River is located on the Markagunt Plateau, between Panguitch, Utah and Cedar Breaks National Monument...
- Bryce Canyon Natural History AssociationBryce Canyon Natural History AssociationBryce Canyon Natural History Association is a non-profit organization created to aid the interpretive, educational and scientific activities of the National Park Service, at Bryce Canyon National Park and the USDA Forest Service on the Dixie National Forest. A portion of the profits from all...
- List of Utah Wilderness areas
- PodunkPodunkIn American English, Podunk, podunk, or Podunk Hollow denotes or describes a place of small size or "in the middle of nowhere", and is often used in the upper case as a placeholder name in a context of dismissing significance or importance....
- Paunsaugunt PlateauPaunsaugunt PlateauThe Paunsaugunt Plateau is a dissected plateau, rising to an elevation of , in southwestern Utah in the United States. Located in northern Kane County and southwestern Garfield County, it is approximately wide, and extends southward from the Sevier Plateau approximately , terminating in the Pink...