Little Picacho Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Little Picacho Wilderness is a 38214 acres (15,464.7 ha) wilderness area under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management
. The wilderness is found in a southeast extension of the Chocolate Mountains
adjacent to the Colorado
River
, in the southeastern part of California
. It should not be confused with the Picacho Peak Wilderness which is located to the northeast.
At elevations ranging from 200 foot, the wilderness is home to the Picacho wild horse
, which roams the northwestern 5000 acre part of the wilderness. The wilderness provides habitat for wild burro
, desert tortoise
, spotted bat
and desert bighorn sheep
.
The Little Picacho Wilderness is one of a number of federally protected areas located north of Yuma, Arizona
and south of Blythe, California
in the Lower Colorado River Valley
.
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
. The wilderness is found in a southeast extension of the Chocolate Mountains
Chocolate Mountains
The Chocolate Mountains of California are located in Imperial County and Riverside County in the Colorado Desert in Southern California. The mountains stretch more than 60 miles in a northwest to southeast direction, and are located east of the Salton Sea and south and west of the Chuckwalla...
adjacent to the Colorado
Lower Colorado River Valley
The Lower Colorado River Valley is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Sea of Cortez in northwestern Mexico, between the states of Baja...
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 the southeastern part of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It should not be confused with the Picacho Peak Wilderness which is located to the northeast.
At elevations ranging from 200 foot, the wilderness is home to the Picacho wild horse
Mustang (horse)
A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but there is intense debate over terminology...
, which roams the northwestern 5000 acre part of the wilderness. The wilderness provides habitat for wild burro
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
, desert tortoise
Desert Tortoise
The desert tortoise is a species of tortoise native to the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. They can be located in western Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah. The species name agassizii is in honor of...
, spotted bat
Spotted bat
The Spotted bat , is a bat species from the family of vesper bats.-Description:The spotted bat was first described by zoologist Joel Asaph Allen from the American Museum of Natural History in 1891. It can reach a length of 12 cm and a wingspan of 35 cm. The weight is about 15 g. It has...
and desert bighorn sheep
Desert Bighorn Sheep
The Desert Bighorn Sheep is a subspecies of Bighorn Sheep that occurs in the desert Southwest regions of the United States and in the northern regions of Mexico. The trinomial of this species commemorates the American naturalist Edward William Nelson...
.
The Little Picacho Wilderness is one of a number of federally protected areas located north of Yuma, Arizona
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
and south of Blythe, California
Blythe, California
Blythe is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the "Palo Verde Valley" of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River. Blythe was named after Thomas Blythe, a gold prospector who established primary...
in the Lower Colorado River Valley
Lower Colorado River Valley
The Lower Colorado River Valley is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Sea of Cortez in northwestern Mexico, between the states of Baja...
.
See also
- Little Picacho Wilderness floraLittle Picacho Wilderness floraThis is a list of Little Picacho Wilderness flora. The Little Picacho Wilderness covers a 'subsection' of the southeastern Chocolate Mountains in the Colorado Desert, in southeastern Imperial County, California...
- Chocolate MountainsChocolate MountainsThe Chocolate Mountains of California are located in Imperial County and Riverside County in the Colorado Desert in Southern California. The mountains stretch more than 60 miles in a northwest to southeast direction, and are located east of the Salton Sea and south and west of the Chuckwalla...
- Indian Pass WildernessIndian Pass WildernessThe Indian Pass Wilderness is wilderness area under the administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The reserve is located in the very southeastern part of the Chocolate Mountains, in the southeastern part of California, just to the west of the Colorado River in the Lower Colorado River Valley...