Cottonwood Creek (Inyo County, California)
Encyclopedia
Cottonwood Creek originates in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
s of the White Mountains
of California. The creek flows eastward from the 14,000-foot crest of the White Mountains and steeply descends through groves of aspen
, eventually flowing into a sagebrush
desert. Numerous springs feed the creek as it meanders through large meadows of the upper reaches. Stands of aspen and bristlecone pine
can be found in the higher elevations, while lower elevations are marked with stands of pinyon
and juniper
trees.
Cottonwood Creek is home to the rare Paiute cutthroat trout
, one of the rarest trout in North America. The stream is flanked by a forest of aspen, willow
and cottonwoods that also supports more than 70 species of birds.
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is high in the White Mountains in Inyo County in eastern California. The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine trees grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet above sea level, in xeric alpine conditions, protected within the Inyo National Forest...
s of the White Mountains
White Mountains (California)
The White Mountains of California are a triangular fault block mountain range facing the Sierra Nevada across the upper Owens Valley. They extend for approximately as a greatly elevated plateau about wide on the south, narrowing to a point at the north, with elevations generally increasing...
of California. The creek flows eastward from the 14,000-foot crest of the White Mountains and steeply descends through groves of 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...
, eventually flowing into a sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
desert. Numerous springs feed the creek as it meanders through large meadows of the upper reaches. Stands of aspen and bristlecone pine
Bristlecone pine
The bristlecone pines are a small group of pine trees that are thought to reach an age far greater than that of any other single living organism known, up to nearly 5,000 years....
can be found in the higher elevations, while lower elevations are marked with stands of pinyon
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...
trees.
Cottonwood Creek is home to the rare Paiute cutthroat trout
Paiute cutthroat trout
Paiute cutthroat trout is a subspecies of cutthroat trout native only to Silver King Creek, a headwater tributary of the Carson River in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, U.S.A. The Carson River lies within the Great Basin interior drainage system, within the historic range of Lahontan...
, one of the rarest trout in North America. The stream is flanked by a forest of aspen, willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
and cottonwoods that also supports more than 70 species of birds.