Sawtooth National Recreation Area - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) is a National Recreation Area

National Recreation Area

National Recreation Area is a designation for a protected area in the United States, often centered on large reservoirs and emphasizing water-based recreation for a large number of people. The first National Recreation Area was the Boulder Dam Recreation Area...

located in central Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, within the Boise

Boise National Forest

The Boise National Forest is a US national forest located north and east of the city of Boise, Idaho. It is about 2,612,000 acres in size, ranging in elevation from 2,600 to 9,800 feet . The mountainous landscape developed through uplifting, faulting, and stream cutting...

, Challis, and Sawtooth National Forest

Sawtooth National Forest

Sawtooth National Forest is in Idaho and Utah was protected in 1905 by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt as the Sawtooth Forest Reserve. Today the forest administers over 2.1 million acres of some of the most remote forestland in the lower 48 states, and there are over 1,000 lakes and 3,000...

s. The recreation area is managed by the U.S. Forest Service

United States Forest Service

The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...

and includes the Sawtooth Wilderness

Sawtooth Wilderness

The Sawtooth Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The Wilderness was upgraded in 1972 from "primitive area" status, affording greater protections of the habitat...

. Activities within the roughly 778000 acres (3,148.5 km²) recreation area include hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, backpacking

Backpacking (wilderness)

Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...

, White water rafting, camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

, rock climbing

Rock climbing

Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...

, kayaking

Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...

, mountain biking

Mountain biking

Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...

, fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, and hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

.

The SNRA headquarters are about seven miles (11 km) north of Ketchum

Ketchum, Idaho

Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...

on Highway 75

Idaho State Highway 75

State Highway 75 is a two-lane highway that travels through the Sawtooth Range of central Idaho from Shoshone to Challis. The road is designated as one of Idaho's scenic byways and provides access to Sawtooth National Recreation Area...

, and the SNRA also has a ranger station in Stanley

Stanley, Idaho

Stanley is a city in Custer County, Idaho, United States. The population was 100 at the 2000 census. The center of population of Idaho is located in Stanley.-Geography:...

, near its northern boundary.

Geology

Idaho's most famous mountain range, the Sawtooth Mountains

Sawtooth Range (Idaho)

The Sawtooth Range is part of the Rocky Mountains, located within a few miles south of Stanley, Idaho, in the Western United States. Much of mountain range is within the Sawtooth Wilderness, part of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area...

are located within the SNRA, along with the White Cloud Mountains

White Cloud Mountains

The White Cloud Mountains are part of the Rocky Mountainsof the western United States,located in central Idaho, southeast of Stanley in Custer County. The range is located within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and the area that is the proposed "White Cloud - Boulder Wilderness Area." The...

, and the Boulder Mountains.

Peaks

Sawtooth Mountains

Sawtooth Range (Idaho)

Thompson Peak
Thompson Peak (Idaho)
Thompson Peak, at high is the highest peak in the Sawtooth Range of Idaho. The top of Thompson Peak is located within Custer County, although some of the lower portion of the mountain is in Boise County. Thompson Peak is also located within the Sawtooth Wilderness portion of the Sawtooth...

- 10751 ft (3,276.9 m)
Mount Cramer
Mount Cramer
Mount Cramer, at high is the second highest peak in the Sawtooth Range of Idaho. The top of Mount Cramer is located on the border of Custer and Boise Counties. The peak is the highest point in Boise County. Mount Cramer is also located within the Sawtooth Wilderness portion of the Sawtooth...

- 10716 ft (3,266.2 m)
Decker Peak - 10704 ft (3,262.6 m)
Mickey's Spire - 10680 ft (3,255.3 m)
Snowyside Peak - 10651 ft (3,246.4 m)
Williams Peak
Williams Peak (Idaho)
Williams Peak, at high is the 6th highest peak in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho and is located within the Sawtooth Wilderness portion of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area . The peak lies at 44.15240°N / 115.0057°W and is .75 miles north-northwest of Thompson Peak, the highest peak in the...

- 10635 ft (3,241.5 m)
Mount Carter - 10590 ft (3,227.8 m)
Elk Peak - 10582 ft (3,225.4 m)
The Arrowhead - 10579 ft (3,224.5 m)
Horstmann Peak - 10470 ft (3,191.3 m)
Braxon Peak - 10353 ft (3,155.6 m)
Mount Heyburn
Mount Heyburn
Mount Heyburn, at 10,299 feet is one of the many peaks in the Sawtooth Range of central Idaho. Mount Heyburn is located in Custer County and within the Sawtooth Wilderness portion of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The town of Stanley is located 8 miles north-northeast of Mount Heyburn...

- 10299 ft (3,139.1 m)
Baron Peak - 10297 ft (3,138.5 m)
Payette Peak - 10211 ft (3,112.3 m)
Warbonnet Peak - 10210 ft (3,112 m)
Parks Peak - 10208 ft (3,111.4 m)
Mount Regan - 10190 ft (3,105.9 m)
Imogene - 10125 ft (3,086.1 m)
Reward Peak - 10074 ft (3,070.6 m)
McDonald Peak - 10068 ft (3,068.7 m)
Glens Peak - 10053 ft (3,064.2 m)
Tohobit Peak - 10046 ft (3,062 m)
El Capitan - 9901 ft (3,017.8 m)
Alpine Peak - 9861 ft (3,005.6 m)
McGown Peak - 9860 ft (3,005.3 m)
Finger of Fate - 9775 ft (2,979.4 m)
Grand Mogul - 9733 ft (2,966.6 m)
Grandjean Peak - 9105 ft (2,775.2 m)

White Cloud Mountains

Castle Peak
Castle Peak (Idaho)
Castle Peak, at high is the highest peak in the White Cloud Mountains of Idaho. Castle Peak is the 25th highest peak in Idaho, and the 9th most prominent peak in the state....

- 11815 ft (3,601.2 m)
Calkens Peak - 11487 ft (3,501.2 m)
Lee Peak - 11342 ft (3,457 m)
Peak 11272 - 11272 ft (3,435.7 m)
White Cloud Peak #9 - 11263 ft (3,433 m)
Chinese Wall - 11238 ft (3,425.3 m)
Lonesome Lake Peak - 11202 ft (3,414.4 m)
White Cloud Peak #10 - 11102 ft (3,383.9 m)
Merriam Peak - 10920 ft (3,328.4 m)
Patterson Peak - 10877 ft (3,315.3 m)
Washington Peak - 10519 ft (3,206.2 m)
Watson Peak - 10452 ft (3,185.8 m)
Croseus Peak - 10388 ft (3,166.3 m)
Blackman Peak - 10300 ft (3,139.4 m)
Bible Back Mountain - 9928 ft (3,026.1 m)

Boulder Mountains

Galena Peak - 11153 ft (3,399.4 m)
Silver Peak - 11112 ft (3,386.9 m)
Easley Peak - 11108 ft (3,385.7 m)
Boulder Peak - 10981 ft (3,347 m)

The headwaters of the Salmon River

Salmon River (Idaho)

The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Salmon is also known as The River of No Return. It flows for through central Idaho, draining and dropping more than between its headwaters, near Galena Summit above the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National...

, also known as the "River of No Return" are in the SNRA and the river flows north through the Sawtooth Valley before turning east in Stanley and following the northern border of the SNRA. The headwaters of the Big Wood River

Big Wood River

The Big Wood River is a river in central Idaho. It is a tributary of the Malad River, which in turn is tributary to the Snake River and Columbia River.-Course:...

and the Payette River

Payette River

The Payette River is an river in southwestern Idaho and is a major tributary of the Snake River.Its headwaters originate in the Sawtooth and Salmon River Mountains at elevations over...

are also in SNRA.

Lakes

There are hundreds of lakes in the Sawtooth Mountains, most of which have been created by alpine glaciers. The largest lakes are Redfish Lake

Redfish Lake

Redfish Lake is an alpine lake in central Idaho, United States, located in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, at the base of the Sawtooth Mountains in Custer County....

, Alturas Lake

Alturas Lake

Alturas Lake is an alpine lake in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, located in the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The lake is approximately south of Stanley and northwest of Ketchum...

, Pettit Lake

Pettit Lake

Pettit Lake is a large alpine lake in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, located in the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The lake is approximately south of Stanley and northwest of Ketchum. Pettit Lake can be accessed from State Highway 75 via Sawtooth National Forest...

, Yellow Belly Lake

Yellow Belly Lake

Yellow Belly Lake is an alpine lake in Custer County, Idaho, United States, located in the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The lake is approximately south of Stanley and northwest of Ketchum. Yellow Belly Lake can be accessed from State Highway 75 via Sawtooth National...

, Stanley Lake

Stanley Lake

Stanley Lake is an alpine lake in Custer County, Idaho, United States, located at the base of the Sawtooth Mountains in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The lake is approximately west of Stanley, readily accessed via a spur road from State Highway 21...

, and Sawtooth Lake

Sawtooth Lake

Sawtooth Lake is an alpine lake in Custer County, Idaho, United States, located high in the Sawtooth Mountains in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The lake is approximately southwest of Stanley. A trail from the Iron Creek trailhead and campground leads approximately 5 miles to Sawtooth Lake...

.

Sawtooths

There is a fairly comprehensive list of lakes under Lakes of the Sawtooth Mountains.

White Clouds

Born Lakes - 9353 ft (2,850.8 m).
Boulder Chain Lakes - 9500 ft (2,895.6 m).
Castle Lake - 9519 ft (2,901.4 m).
Champion Lakes - 8661 ft (2,639.9 m).
Cirque Lake - 10050 ft (3,063.2 m).
Cove Lake - 9842 ft (2,999.8 m).
Crater Lake - 8979 ft (2,736.8 m).
Fourth of July Lake - 9365 ft (2,854.5 m).
Frog Lake - 8835 ft (2,692.9 m).
Goat Lake - 8950 ft (2,728 m).
Gunsight Lake - 10050 ft (3,063.2 m).
Hammock Lake - 9514 ft (2,899.9 m).
Heart Lake - 8860 ft (2,700.5 m).
Hidden Lake - 9510 ft (2,898.6 m).
Hoodoo Lake - 8677 ft (2,644.7 m).
Little Redfish Lake
Little Redfish Lake (White Cloud Mountains)
Little Redfish Lake is a name given to two different alpine lakes in central Idaho, both in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Custer County. This article refers in the Big Boulder Creek Watershed of the White Cloud Mountains...

- 8780 ft (2,676.1 m).
Lonesome Lake - 10435 ft (3,180.6 m).
Noisy Lake - 8797 ft (2,681.3 m).
Phyllis Lake - 9180 ft (2,798.1 m).
Quiet Lake - 9242 ft (2,817 m).
Snow Lake - 10000 ft (3,048 m).
Swimm Lake - 8866 ft (2,702.4 m).
Tin Cup Lake - 9980 ft (3,041.9 m).
Walker Lake - 9239 ft (2,816 m).
Washington Lake - 9362 ft (2,853.5 m).
Willow Lake - 8735 ft (2,662.4 m).

Wildlife

Mammals

Badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
Beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
Bighorn sheep
Bighorn Sheep
The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...
Black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
Bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
Columbian ground squirrel
Columbian Ground Squirrel
The Columbian ground squirrel is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. It is found in Canada and the United States....
Cougar
Coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
Elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
Gray wolf
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
Marten
Marten
The martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae.-Description:Martens are slender, agile animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large...
Moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
Mountain goat
Mountain goat
The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
Mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
Pronghorn antelope
Red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...

Reptiles and Amphibians

Bullsnake
Bullsnake
The bullsnake ' is a large non-venomous colubrid snake, widespread in the central part of the United States, northern Mexico, and southwestern Saskatchewan and Alberta Canada. It is currently considered a subspecies of the gopher snake '...
Garter snake
Garter snake
The Garter snake is a Colubrid snake genus common across North America, ranging from Alaska and Canada to Central America. It is the single most widely distributed genus of reptile in North America. The garter snake is also the Massachusettsstate reptile.There is no real consensus on the...
Pacific Tree Frog
Pacific Tree Frog
The Pacific Tree Frog has a range from the West Coast of the United States to British Columbia, in Canada. They live from sea level to more than 10,000 feet in many types of habitats, reproducing in aquatic settings. They are the only frogs that go "ribbit"...
Long-toed salamander
Long-toed Salamander
The long-toed salamander is a mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. This species, typically 4.1–8.9 cm long when mature, is characterized by its mottled black, brown and yellow pigmentation, and its long outer fourth toe on the hind limbs...
Columbia Spotted Frog
Columbia Spotted Frog
The Columbia Spotted Frog, Rana luteiventris, is a North American species of frog. It is green to brown in color with spots on the dorsal surface. The belly and upper lip are white in color. Individuals can be distinguished from other Rana species by their shorter back legs, narrow snout and...
Tailed frog
Tailed frog
The tailed frogs are two species of frogs. The species are part of the genus, Ascaphus is the only taxon in the family Ascaphidae . The "tail" in the name is actually an extension of the male cloaca. The tail is one of two distinctive anatomical features adapting the species to life in fast-flowing...
Western Toad
Western toad
The Western toad more commonly known as is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches...

Fish

Brook trout
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
Bull trout
Bull trout
The bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, S. confluentus has been known as the "Dolly Varden" , but was re-classified as a separate species in 1980. Bull trout are listed as a threatened species under the U.S....
Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
Cutthroat trout
Cutthroat trout
The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...
Rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
Sculpin
Sculpin
A Sculpin is a fish that belongs to the order Scorpaeniformes, suborder Cottoidei and superfamily Cottoidea, that contains 11 families, 149 genera, and 756 species...
Shiner
Shiner (fish)
Shiner is a common name used for any of several kinds of small, usually silvery fish, in particular a number of cyprinids, but also e.g. the Shiner Perch .Cyprinid shiners are:* Eastern shiners, genus Notropis...
Sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon , also called red salmon or blueback salmon in the USA, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it...
Whitefish
Freshwater whitefish
The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...

Birds

Bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
Bluebird
Bluebird
The bluebirds are a group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family . Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. They have blue, or blue and red, plumage...
Common Loon
Grouse
Grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...
Osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
Peregrine Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
Sandhill crane
Sandhill Crane
The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...
Western tanager
Western Tanager
The Western Tanager, Piranga ludoviciana, is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family , it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family...

Gray wolves were reintroduced in the 1990s and plans to reintroduce grizzly bears have been abandoned. The SNRA contains prime habitat for wolverines and the endangered Canada lynx

Canada Lynx

The Canada lynx or Canadian lynx is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. It is a close relative of the Eurasian Lynx . Some authorities regard both as conspecific. However, in some characteristics the Canada lynx is more like the bobcat than the Eurasian Lynx...

, but no recent sightings have been reported. Caribou are also known to migrate into the SNRA during the winter. Bull trout are the Management Indicator Species for the SNRA and population monitoring efforts are undertaken every year.

Popular culture

Clint Eastwood

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

's 1985 film Pale Rider

Pale Rider

Pale Rider is a 1985 American western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. This movie has plot similarities to the classic Western Shane , including in its final scene, as well as previous Eastwood films featuring his Man with No Name character and his 1973...

was filmed in the SNRA, mostly in the Boulder Mountains in the fall of 1984.
The opening credits scene was shot south of Stanley

Stanley, Idaho

Stanley is a city in Custer County, Idaho, United States. The population was 100 at the 2000 census. The center of population of Idaho is located in Stanley.-Geography:...

in front of the Sawtooth Mountains

Sawtooth Range (Idaho)

.

This national recreation area will be one of the settings of the upcoming 3-D computer animated film Alpha and Omega
Alpha and Omega (film)
Alpha and Omega is a 2010 3D American computer animated comedy-drama film produced by Crest Animation Productions and Richard Rich. The film is directed by Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck, starring the voices of Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Dennis Hopper , Danny Glover and Christina Ricci.The film...

.

The Idaho Department of Motor Vehicles also created a license plate depicting the SNRA (see right).

External links

U.S. Forest Service - Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Sawtooth Camera

Bibliography

Ewert, Sara E. Dant. “Peak Park Politics: The Struggle over the Sawtooths, from Borah to Church.” Pacific Northwest Quarterly (Summer 2000): 138-149.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Geology

Peaks

Lakes

Wildlife

Popular culture

See Also

External links