San Rafael Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The San Rafael Wilderness is a wilderness area in the mountains of north central Santa Barbara County, California
, USA. It is completely contained within the Los Padres National Forest
, and is north of the city of Santa Barbara
and east of Santa Maria
. Formed in 1968, it was the first wilderness area to be created from a previously designated Primitive Area
after the passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act
. It also includes the Sisquoc Condor
Sanctuary, created in 1937, which is the oldest designated sanctuary for the large endangered
birds.
and Sierra Madre Mountains
, and includes the drainages of two watercourses: the Sisquoc River and Manzana Creek. Both flow to the northwest, eventually joining together and draining into the ocean near Santa Maria. Elevations within the wilderness vary from 1166 feet (355 m) at the confluence of Manzana Creek and the Sisquoc River on the western boundary, to over 6800 feet (2,072.6 m) at Big Pine Mountain
, the highest point in Santa Barbara County. Dividing the drainages of the Manzana and Sisquoc is a ridge known as Hurricane Deck, a rugged 15 miles (24.1 km) slab of upthrust sandstone
with a trail snaking along the top.
Rock formations in the wilderness are predominantly sedimentary
, and are of Miocene
and Cretaceous
age. Both the Nacimiento and Big Pine Faults run through the wilderness, roughly parallelling the Sierra Madre and San Rafael Mountain crests respectively. Hurricane Deck is a single block of Miocene-age sedimentary rock. Immediately south of the wilderness, opposite the Big Pine and Camuesa Faults, is a large region of the Franciscan Formation. Mercury
was formerly mined in this area, and abandoned mines along with tailings piles can be found.
, although the distance from the coast allows for cooler winters and hotter summers than are found in the coastal strip. Snow is common on the higher peaks in the winter, although it rarely lingers except on north-facing slopes. Rain is extremely rare in the summer, and dry lightning from the occasional thunderstorms can start fires.
and oak woodland
, although there are stands of pine and fir at higher elevations and on north-facing slopes, as well as riparian forests in the streams. The river valleys open out in a few places to allow for meadows and grassland
s; these are the locations that were settled in the 19th century. Wildlife that may be encountered in the wilderness includes coyotes, black bears, and mountain lions. The California Condor can occasionally be seen, since the endangered bird was released back into the wild in 1992. The 1200 acres (4.9 km²) Sisquoc Condor Sanctuary, in the southeastern part of the wilderness, was chosen for its inaccessible terrain, which includes rock ledges favored by condors for nesting sites. Public entry is prohibited in the Sanctuary.
In the 1880s, a group of about 200 faith healer
s, led by Hiram Preserved Wheat (1822–1903), settled along the Sisquoc River in about 20 separate homesteads. The ruins of their habitations, including the "Manzana Schoolhouse," can be seen to the present day. At the time, they were mistakenly called "Mormon
s," and the error has been preserved in the name of one campsite along the Sisquoc River in the central part of the wilderness. They built the schoolhouse in 1893, but by 1902 it was closed, and most of the group had left. After the faith healers had left, another settler, Charles Dabney, built a cabin for himself and his family in 1914; it can be seen on a terrace above Manzana Creek.
The wilderness is often closed to entry during fire season, the exact dates of which vary but usually include the late summer and early fall. Most of the wilderness was burned in the 1966 Wellman Fire, and during July, August, and September 2007, the western, southern, and eastern parts of the wilderness are burned for the first time in 41 years (for the western portion) and for more than 100 years (for the remainder), in the Zaca Fire
. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/770/
At its creation in 1968 the San Rafael Wilderness consisted of only 149170 acres (604 km²). Originally it was the San Rafael Primitive Area. Due to a disagreement between the Forest Service, US Congress and conservationists over 2200 acres (8.9 km²) of natural grass openings called portreros, which contained pictographs from the Chumash Indians, it took a long time for the wilderness designation. In 1992, after the passage of the Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act, Congress added an additional 48210 acres (195 km²) adjacent to the original area on the northwest. The wilderness is also adjacent to the Dick Smith Wilderness
to the east; this protected area was created in 1984.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA. It is completely contained within the Los Padres National Forest
Los Padres National Forest
Los Padres National Forest is a forest located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland...
, and is north of the city of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
and east of Santa Maria
Santa Maria, California
Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...
. Formed in 1968, it was the first wilderness area to be created from a previously designated Primitive Area
National Primitive Area
A Primitive Area is a land designation previously used by the United States Forest Service. Although there are still lands with this title, most are now known as wilderness areas.The Forest Service began this new designation in 1929 with the L-20 regulations....
after the passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act
Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964 was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected some 9 million acres of federal land. The result of a long effort to protect federal wilderness, the Wilderness Act was signed...
. It also includes the Sisquoc Condor
California Condor
The California Condor is a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. Currently, this condor inhabits only the Grand Canyon area, Zion National Park, and coastal mountains of central and southern California and northern Baja California...
Sanctuary, created in 1937, which is the oldest designated sanctuary for the large endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
birds.
Geography
Most of the wilderness lies between the crests of two parallel mountain ranges, the San Rafael MountainsSan Rafael Mountains
The San Rafael Mountains are a mountain range in central Santa Barbara County, California, U.S.. They are part of the Transverse Ranges system of Southern California which in turn are part of the Pacific Coast Ranges system of western North America....
and Sierra Madre Mountains
Sierra Madre Mountains (California)
The Sierra Madre Mountains are a mountain range in northern Santa Barbara County, California, USA. They are a portion of the Inner South Coast Ranges, representing the southernmost part, which are themselves part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America. The Sierra Madre Mountains...
, and includes the drainages of two watercourses: the Sisquoc River and Manzana Creek. Both flow to the northwest, eventually joining together and draining into the ocean near Santa Maria. Elevations within the wilderness vary from 1166 feet (355 m) at the confluence of Manzana Creek and the Sisquoc River on the western boundary, to over 6800 feet (2,072.6 m) at Big Pine Mountain
Big Pine Mountain
Big Pine Mountain is a mountain located in the San Rafael Mountains of the Transverse Ranges in California. High enough to receive snowfall during the winter,...
, the highest point in Santa Barbara County. Dividing the drainages of the Manzana and Sisquoc is a ridge known as Hurricane Deck, a rugged 15 miles (24.1 km) slab of upthrust sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
with a trail snaking along the top.
Rock formations in the wilderness are predominantly sedimentary
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
, and are of Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
and Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
age. Both the Nacimiento and Big Pine Faults run through the wilderness, roughly parallelling the Sierra Madre and San Rafael Mountain crests respectively. Hurricane Deck is a single block of Miocene-age sedimentary rock. Immediately south of the wilderness, opposite the Big Pine and Camuesa Faults, is a large region of the Franciscan Formation. Mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
was formerly mined in this area, and abandoned mines along with tailings piles can be found.
Climate
The climate of the wilderness is MediterraneanMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, although the distance from the coast allows for cooler winters and hotter summers than are found in the coastal strip. Snow is common on the higher peaks in the winter, although it rarely lingers except on north-facing slopes. Rain is extremely rare in the summer, and dry lightning from the occasional thunderstorms can start fires.
Vegetation and wildlife
The typical vegetation in the wilderness is chaparralChaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
and oak woodland
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
, although there are stands of pine and fir at higher elevations and on north-facing slopes, as well as riparian forests in the streams. The river valleys open out in a few places to allow for meadows and grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
s; these are the locations that were settled in the 19th century. Wildlife that may be encountered in the wilderness includes coyotes, black bears, and mountain lions. The California Condor can occasionally be seen, since the endangered bird was released back into the wild in 1992. The 1200 acres (4.9 km²) Sisquoc Condor Sanctuary, in the southeastern part of the wilderness, was chosen for its inaccessible terrain, which includes rock ledges favored by condors for nesting sites. Public entry is prohibited in the Sanctuary.
History
The region has been continuously inhabited by humans for over 10,000 years. Rock art by the resident Chumash Indians is scattered across the region; locations of rock paintings are generally not made public for fear of vandalism.In the 1880s, a group of about 200 faith healer
Faith Healer
Faith Healer is a play by Brian Friel about the life of faith healer Francis Hardy as monologued through the shifting memories of Hardy, his wife, Grace, and stage manager, Teddy.-Synopsis:...
s, led by Hiram Preserved Wheat (1822–1903), settled along the Sisquoc River in about 20 separate homesteads. The ruins of their habitations, including the "Manzana Schoolhouse," can be seen to the present day. At the time, they were mistakenly called "Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
s," and the error has been preserved in the name of one campsite along the Sisquoc River in the central part of the wilderness. They built the schoolhouse in 1893, but by 1902 it was closed, and most of the group had left. After the faith healers had left, another settler, Charles Dabney, built a cabin for himself and his family in 1914; it can be seen on a terrace above Manzana Creek.
The wilderness is often closed to entry during fire season, the exact dates of which vary but usually include the late summer and early fall. Most of the wilderness was burned in the 1966 Wellman Fire, and during July, August, and September 2007, the western, southern, and eastern parts of the wilderness are burned for the first time in 41 years (for the western portion) and for more than 100 years (for the remainder), in the Zaca Fire
Zaca Fire
The Zaca Fire was a wildfire which began burning northeast of Buellton, California, in Santa Barbara County, California. The fire started on July 4, 2007 and by August 31, it had burned over , making it California's second largest fire in recorded history after the Cedar Fire of 2003. The fire was...
. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/770/
At its creation in 1968 the San Rafael Wilderness consisted of only 149170 acres (604 km²). Originally it was the San Rafael Primitive Area. Due to a disagreement between the Forest Service, US Congress and conservationists over 2200 acres (8.9 km²) of natural grass openings called portreros, which contained pictographs from the Chumash Indians, it took a long time for the wilderness designation. In 1992, after the passage of the Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act, Congress added an additional 48210 acres (195 km²) adjacent to the original area on the northwest. The wilderness is also adjacent to the Dick Smith Wilderness
Dick Smith Wilderness
The Dick Smith Wilderness is a wilderness area in the mountains of eastern Santa Barbara County, California, USA, with a portion in Ventura County. It is completely contained within the Los Padres National Forest, and is northeast of the city of Santa Barbara and north of the city of Ojai...
to the east; this protected area was created in 1984.