San Gorgonio Wilderness
Encyclopedia
San Gorgonio Wilderness is located in the San Bernardino Mountains
, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Morongo Valley and approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) northwest of Palm Springs, California
. It is managed jointly by the San Bernardino National Forest
and the Bureau of Land Management
.
The wilderness is part of the eastern slope of the San Bernardino Mountains with topography rapidly changing from low, rolling foothills and canyon
s to steep, rugged mountain
s. These mountains include Mount San Gorgonio and several other peaks over 10000 feet (3,048 m). Elevations range from 2300 to 11502 ft (701 to 3,505.8 m). Because of this elevation gradient, the wilderness reflects a transition between desert
, coastal
and mountain environments
, including the different types of vegetation representative of each elevation.
The United States Congress designated the San Gorgonio Wilderness in 1964. By 1984, it expanded to 23720 acres (96 km²). In 1994, it was further expanded with additional BLM
lands and it now has a total of 94702 acres (383 km²).
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Morongo Valley and approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) northwest of Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
. It is managed jointly by the San Bernardino National Forest
San Bernardino National Forest
San Bernardino National Forest is a federally-managed forest covering more than 800,000 acres . There are two main divisions which are the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Range, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular...
and the Bureau of Land Management
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 part of the eastern slope of the San Bernardino Mountains with topography rapidly changing from low, rolling foothills and canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
s to steep, rugged mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s. These mountains include Mount San Gorgonio and several other peaks over 10000 feet (3,048 m). Elevations range from 2300 to 11502 ft (701 to 3,505.8 m). Because of this elevation gradient, the wilderness reflects a transition between desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, coastal
Coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub is a low scrubland plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of coastal California and northern Baja California. It is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the...
and mountain environments
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region that runs along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie between...
, including the different types of vegetation representative of each elevation.
The United States Congress designated the San Gorgonio Wilderness in 1964. By 1984, it expanded to 23720 acres (96 km²). In 1994, it was further expanded with additional BLM
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...
lands and it now has a total of 94702 acres (383 km²).