Marble Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Marble Mountains are a sub-range of the Klamath Mountains
in northwestern California
. The highest point in the Marbles is Boulder Peak at 8299 feet (2,529.5 m), or 2530 meters. The Marbles are protected by the Marble Mountain Wilderness Area of the Klamath National Forest
.
The 242500 acres (981.4 km²) Marble Mountain Wilderness is a forested area and contains 89 lakes stocked with trout. Large streams have steelhead trout and salmon. Bear, deer and other wildlife are plentiful. Long recognized for its wild value, this region became a Primitive area in 1931, a Wilderness in 1953, and a part of the NWPS in 1964.
The area where the Marble Mountains now exist was once part of the flat bottom of an ancient, shallow ocean. Millions of years ago, violent volcanic upheavings and the erosive cutting action of rivers and glaciers combined to form the Marble Mountains. Marble Mountain itself is composed primarily of prehistoric marine invertebrates. Almost all the lakes of the Marble Mountains were formed by ancient glacial activity.
The Pacific Crest Trail
runs through the wilderness for 32 miles (51.5 km). The Marble Mountain Wilderness features an unparalleled diversity of plant life found nowhere else in the state. More species of conifers (17) live in proximity here than any place else in the world. These beautiful trees include the Brewer's or weeping spruce, incense cedar, Western Juniper; white, subalpine, and Shasta red fir; Engelmann spruce, mountain hemlock, Pacific yew; and whitebark, knobcone, foxtail, lodgepole, sugar, ponderosa, and Western white pine.
The Marble Mountains form part of the drainages of the Salmon and Klamath rivers.
The Marble Mountains can be reached from State Route 96 between Hamburg and Somes Bar, State Route 3
via the Scott River Road between Scott Bar and Fort Jones or State Route 3 via the Etna-Somes Bar Road.
Klamath Mountains
The Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
in northwestern 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...
. The highest point in the Marbles is Boulder Peak at 8299 feet (2,529.5 m), or 2530 meters. The Marbles are protected by the Marble Mountain Wilderness Area of the Klamath National Forest
Klamath National Forest
Klamath National Forest is a national forest, in the Klamath Mountains, located in Siskiyou County in northern California, but with a tiny extension into southern Jackson County in Oregon. The forest contains continuous stands of ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, Douglas fir, red fir, white fir and...
.
The 242500 acres (981.4 km²) Marble Mountain Wilderness is a forested area and contains 89 lakes stocked with trout. Large streams have steelhead trout and salmon. Bear, deer and other wildlife are plentiful. Long recognized for its wild value, this region became a Primitive area in 1931, a Wilderness in 1953, and a part of the NWPS in 1964.
The area where the Marble Mountains now exist was once part of the flat bottom of an ancient, shallow ocean. Millions of years ago, violent volcanic upheavings and the erosive cutting action of rivers and glaciers combined to form the Marble Mountains. Marble Mountain itself is composed primarily of prehistoric marine invertebrates. Almost all the lakes of the Marble Mountains were formed by ancient glacial activity.
The Pacific Crest Trail
Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail on the Western Seaboard of the United States. The southern terminus is at the California border with Mexico...
runs through the wilderness for 32 miles (51.5 km). The Marble Mountain Wilderness features an unparalleled diversity of plant life found nowhere else in the state. More species of conifers (17) live in proximity here than any place else in the world. These beautiful trees include the Brewer's or weeping spruce, incense cedar, Western Juniper; white, subalpine, and Shasta red fir; Engelmann spruce, mountain hemlock, Pacific yew; and whitebark, knobcone, foxtail, lodgepole, sugar, ponderosa, and Western white pine.
The Marble Mountains form part of the drainages of the Salmon and Klamath rivers.
The Marble Mountains can be reached from State Route 96 between Hamburg and Somes Bar, State Route 3
State Route 3 (California)
State Route 3 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs from State Route 36 north along the shore of Trinity Lake, Fort Jones and Etna. The route approaches Yreka, intersecting with Interstate 5, and turns east to Montague...
via the Scott River Road between Scott Bar and Fort Jones or State Route 3 via the Etna-Somes Bar Road.