Piper Mountain Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Piper Mountain Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located in the White Mountains
20 miles (32.2 km) northeast of Big Pine, California
in Inyo County, California
.
The Wilderness Area was created by the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, and encompasses 72575 acres (29,370.1 ha) of Great Basin
wildlands
, east of the Owens Valley
and west of the Eureka Valley.
The landscape is characterized by steep mountains, narrow canyons, sloping alluvial fans and level floodplains. It includes a subrange of the Inyo Mountains
called the Chocolate Mountains, a northwestern section of the Last Chance Range
and the upper end of Eureka Valley which is immediately north of Death Valley National Park
.
The highest peaks of the wilderness are in the Chocolate Mountains and include Mount Nunn (7,815 feet) and Lime Hill (6,532 feet). The wilderness's namesake Piper Mountain (labeled 'Chocolate Mountain' on topo maps) rises to an elevation of 7546 feet (2,300 m).
made when the area was added to the California Desert Protection Act.
of Cresote bush (Larrea tridentata) in the lower valleys. Plants in the higher elevations include: Shadscale
(Atriplex confertifolia), Littleleaf Horsebrush
(Tetradymia axillaris), Stansbury cliffrose
(Purshia stansburiana), Desert-olive
(Forestiera pubescens) and Mormon tea
(Ephedra californica) on . North-facing high elevation slopes are studded with Single-leaf Pinyon
(Pinus monophylla) and California juniper
(Juniperus californica).
Within the wilderness grows one of the northernmost stands of Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia), at the base of the Inyo Mountains.
Rare wildflowers include black milkvetch
or Funeral Mountain milkvetch (Astragalus funereus), and the cactus Redspined fishhook cactus
or Mojave fish hook cactus (Sclerocactus polyancistrus), which grows in Joshua tree "woodland" communities.
There are three areas within the wilderness that are habitat for the Desert Bighorn Sheep
.
oversees the Piper Wilderness and does not require any permits for visitors.
Because the Piper Mountain Wilderness Area received federal protection so recently, the 19 miles (30.6 km) of trail are actually closed four-wheel drive roads.
Most often hiked is the deep notch of the Soldier Pass Canyon which extends east to west in the Chocolate Mountains. Maps dating to 1879 show a "Soldier Pass" label. The eastern face of the Chocolate Mountains rise 2000 feet (609.6 m) above the canyon mouth with the canyon narrowing as it rises in elevation. The broad saddle of Soldier Pass is gained after 3.2 miles (5.1 km) and is at an elevation of 5500 feet (1,676.4 m).
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) encourages the practice of Leave No Trace
principles of wilderness travel to help protect the fragile desert environment.
Category: Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
Category: Flora of the California desert regions
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...
20 miles (32.2 km) northeast of Big Pine, California
Big Pine, California
Big Pine is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Big Pine is located south-southeast of Bishop, at an elevation of 3990 feet . The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census, up from 1,350 at the 2000 census...
in Inyo County, California
Inyo County, California
-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...
.
The Wilderness Area was created by the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, and encompasses 72575 acres (29,370.1 ha) of Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
wildlands
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
, east of the Owens Valley
Owens Valley
Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...
and west of the Eureka Valley.
Geography
There are three separate units of the wilderness, separated by vehicle corridors, with elevations from 3430 feet (1,045.5 m) to 8805 feet (2,683.8 m).The landscape is characterized by steep mountains, narrow canyons, sloping alluvial fans and level floodplains. It includes a subrange of the Inyo Mountains
Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west with Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately 70 mi SSE from the southern end of the White Mountains,...
called the Chocolate Mountains, a northwestern section of the Last Chance Range
Last Chance Range
for the mountain range of the same name in Nye County, Nevada.The Last Chance Range of California is located near the Nevada state line in eastern Inyo County in the United States....
and the upper end of Eureka Valley which is immediately north of Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is a national park in the U.S. states of California and Nevada located east of the Sierra Nevada in the arid Great Basin of the United States. The park protects the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert and contains a diverse desert environment of salt-flats, sand dunes,...
.
The highest peaks of the wilderness are in the Chocolate Mountains and include Mount Nunn (7,815 feet) and Lime Hill (6,532 feet). The wilderness's namesake Piper Mountain (labeled 'Chocolate Mountain' on topo maps) rises to an elevation of 7546 feet (2,300 m).
Topography
The vehicle corridors that break the continuity of the Piper Wilderness Area into three parts were a concessionConcession (politics)
In politics, a concession is the act of a losing candidate publicly yielding to a winning candidate after an election, when the overall result of the vote has become clear.-Refusal to concede:...
made when the area was added to the California Desert Protection Act.
- The western section is the largest of the three and includes the east side, the steep west side and the crest of the Chocolate Mountains subrange.
- The central section is separated from the western portion by a road linking State Route 168 to Death Valley Road. A colorful and deeply dissected bahada rising to a subrange of the Last Chance MountainsLast Chance Rangefor the mountain range of the same name in Nye County, Nevada.The Last Chance Range of California is located near the Nevada state line in eastern Inyo County in the United States....
characterize the central section. - The third and smallest section of the wilderness is separated from the central portion by Loretto Mine Road and Horse Thief Canyon and is a continuation of the Last Chance subrange with its border being the Eureka Valley Road and Death Valley National Park.
Flora and fauna
Desert vegetation include xeric shrublandsDeserts and xeric shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture.-Definition and occurrence:...
of Cresote bush (Larrea tridentata) in the lower valleys. Plants in the higher elevations include: Shadscale
Atriplex confertifolia
Atriplex confertifolia is a species of evergreen shrub in the Chenopodiaceae family, which is native to the western United States.-Habitat:Shadscale is a common, often dominant, shrub in the lowest and driest areas of the Great Basin...
(Atriplex confertifolia), Littleleaf Horsebrush
Tetradymia axillaris
Tetradymia axillaris is a flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names longspine horsebrush and cottonthorn. This is a plant of the sagebrush and desert plant communities of the southwestern United States....
(Tetradymia axillaris), Stansbury cliffrose
Purshia stansburiana
Purshia stansburyana is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name Stansbury's cliffrose...
(Purshia stansburiana), Desert-olive
Forestiera pubescens
Forestiera pubescens, commonly known as Stretchberry, Desert Olive, Tanglewood, Devil's Elbow, Spring Goldenglow, Spring Herald, or Texas Forsythia....
(Forestiera pubescens) and Mormon tea
Ephedra californica
Ephedra californica is a species of Ephedra known by the common names California jointfir, California ephedra, desert tea, and cañatillo. It is native to southern California, Arizona, and Baja California, where it grows in varied scrub and open habitats, including chaparral and grassland...
(Ephedra californica) on . North-facing high elevation slopes are studded with Single-leaf Pinyon
Single-leaf Pinyon
The Single-leaf Pinyon, ', is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to the United States and northwest Mexico. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and southern California and northern Baja California.It occurs at moderate altitudes from...
(Pinus monophylla) and California juniper
Juniperus californica
Juniperus californica is a species of juniper native to southwestern North America; as the name implies, it is mainly found in California, although its range also extends through most of Baja California, a short distance into the Great Basin in southern Nevada, and western Arizona...
(Juniperus californica).
Within the wilderness grows one of the northernmost stands of Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia), at the base of the Inyo Mountains.
Rare wildflowers include black milkvetch
Astragalus funereus
Astragalus funereus is an uncommon species of milkvetch known by the common names Funeral Mountain milkvetch and black milkvetch....
or Funeral Mountain milkvetch (Astragalus funereus), and the cactus Redspined fishhook cactus
Sclerocactus
Sclerocactus is a genus of cacti. It comprises about 15 species, the exact number depending on the authority. These species are very xerophytic...
or Mojave fish hook cactus (Sclerocactus polyancistrus), which grows in Joshua tree "woodland" communities.
There are three areas within the wilderness that are habitat for the 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...
.
Recreation
Recreational opportunities are day-hiking and backpacking with solitude almost guaranteed as the wilderness is very lightly used. The Bureau of Land ManagementBureau 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...
oversees the Piper Wilderness and does not require any permits for visitors.
Because the Piper Mountain Wilderness Area received federal protection so recently, the 19 miles (30.6 km) of trail are actually closed four-wheel drive roads.
Water and recreation
Water is the single most limiting factor when exploring this desert wilderness. Caching water is possible in many locations because of the road corridors through the area. The majority of visitors are students from Deep Springs College in Deep Springs Valley, located between highway 168 and the western edge of the wilderness.Most often hiked is the deep notch of the Soldier Pass Canyon which extends east to west in the Chocolate Mountains. Maps dating to 1879 show a "Soldier Pass" label. The eastern face of the Chocolate Mountains rise 2000 feet (609.6 m) above the canyon mouth with the canyon narrowing as it rises in elevation. The broad saddle of Soldier Pass is gained after 3.2 miles (5.1 km) and is at an elevation of 5500 feet (1,676.4 m).
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) encourages the practice of Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace is both a set of principles, and an organization that promotes those principles. The principles are designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or...
principles of wilderness travel to help protect the fragile desert environment.
See also
- Eureka Valley Sand DunesEureka Valley Sand DunesThe Eureka Valley Sand Dunes are located in the southern part of Eureka Valley, in northern Inyo County in eastern California, in the southwestern United States...
- Great Basin DesertGreat Basin DesertThe Great Basin Desert is an area of nearctic high deserts across parts of Nevada, California, and Utah that extends into the Colorado River watershed , but which is mostly a portion of the central Nevada desert basins of the Great Basin.It along with the Escalante Desert, Mohave Desert, the...
Category: Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
Category: Flora of the California desert regions
- Environmental ethicsEnvironmental ethicsEnvironmental ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which considers extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from solely including humans to including the non-human world...