The Salome Wilderness of Tonto National Forest

Tonto National Forest

The Tonto National Forest, encompassing 2,873,200 acres , is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the fifth largest national forest in the United States. The Tonto National Forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet in the Sonoran Desert to 7,400 feet...

 is a protected area in the rim country of the southwestern USA. The Salome Wilderness lies within the Sierra Ancha

Sierra Ancha

The Sierra Ancha is a mountain range in Gila County, in central Arizona. It lies between Roosevelt Lake to the south, the Tonto Basin to the west, Cherry Creek to the east, and Pleasant Valley to the north...

 mountain range in Gila County, Arizona

Gila County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*76.8% White*0.4% Black*14.8% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*5.4% Other races*17.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

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Ecology

Prominent perennial streams within this wilderness area are Workman Creek

Workman Creek

Workman Creek is a watercourse in the Salome Wilderness in central Arizona, USA.-Natural history:The oldest exposed rock forms in the general area are Ruinite granite, which dates to 1400 million years before present. The watershed holds a diverse flora and fauna...

 and Salome Creek

Salome Creek

-Natural history:The oldest exposed rock forms in the watershed are Ruinite granite, which dates to 1400 million years before present. The watershed holds a diverse flora and fauna...

. The region has a diverse flora and fauna. Within this part of the Sierra Ancha Range there are notable disjunctive population

Disjunctive population

A disjunctive population, in ecology, is a colony of plants or animals, whose geographical locus is severed from the continuous range of the bulk of the species distribution. Although a disjunctive population may sometimes occur on an island, which creates physical separation via water, a large...

s of Coastal woodfern, Dryopteris arguta

Dryopteris arguta

Dryopteris arguta, with the common name coastal woodfern, is a species of wood fern. It is native to the west coast of North America, where it grows in oak woodlands and shady low elevation slopes in Southern California and north.-Description:...

; this fern is otherwise common in areas nearer the Pacific coast.