Santa Rosa Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Santa Rosa Wilderness is a 72259 acres (292.4 km²) wilderness area
in Southern California, in the Santa Rosa Mountains
of Riverside
and San Diego
counties, California
. It is in the Colorado Desert
section of the Sonoran Desert
, above the Coachella Valley
and Lower Colorado River Valley
regions in a Peninsular Range
, between La Quinta
to the north and Anza Borrego Desert State Park to the south. The United States Congress
established the wilderness in 1984 with the passage of the California Wilderness Act
(Public Law 98-425), managed by the both US Forest Service (13,801 acres) and the Bureau of Land Management
(58,458 acres ). In 2009, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act (P.L. 111-11) was signed into law which added more than 2000 acres (8.1 km²). Most of the Santa Rosa Wilderness is within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
.
The Santa Rosa Mountains have areas of cultural significance containing primitive trails, roasting pits, milling stations, rock shelters and examples of rock art. Native Americans have identified areas that are currently used for temporary habitation, resource collection and ritual hunting. Remains of historical early settlement and mining include quarry sites, mining propects and water improvements associated with natural springs.
(Ovis canadensis) in the country. The Bighorn Institute, a non-profit research group established in 1982 by several biologists and veterinarians, estimates approximately 60 adult sheep live in the Santa Rosa Mountains
, and a total population of 800 sheep in the Peninsular Ranges north of Mexico.
The Peninsular Range bighorn sheep (United States population) is a subspecies that has been protected since 1971 under the California Endangered Species Protection Act and federally protected since 1998 under the Endangered Species Act
(ESA). The Peninsular Range bighorn sheep herd utilize the entire range between 1,000 to 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) elevation. Bear Creek, Deep Canyon and Martinez Canyon are important as summer concentration areas and provide the rugged escape terrain necessary for lambing.
Besides bighorn sheep, there are also mule deer
, bobcat
and coyote
.
Native rare plants in the Santa Rosa Wilderness include shrubs such as Santa Rosa sage
(Salvia eremostachya), and Nuttall's scrub oak
(Quercus dumosa). Perennial herbs include Santa Rosa Mountains leptosiphon ( Linanthus floribundus ssp. hallii), and triple ribbed milkvetch (Astragalus tricarinatus).
The rugged terrain is formed by uplifted blocks of igneous and metamorphic
rocks situated between two major tectonic fault zones, the San Andreas and the San Jacinto. Perennial streams erode the steep-walled canyons and support large fan palm
oases. The Santa Rosa Mountain range and the two faults all trend northwest-southeast and are part of the Peninsular Ranges that extend from Southern California to Baja, Mexico.
along its western border and the designated California State Wilderness in Anza Borrego Desert State Park to the south.
Recreational activities in the Santa Rosa Wilderness include backpacking
, horseback riding, day hiking, and nature study/photography.
Hunting is restricted to the southem half of the wilderness since the northern portion is located within a State Wildlife Refuge. Deer, quail and dove are hunted in season.
:Category:Images of flora of the Lower Colorado River Valley
:Category:Geography of the Colorado Desert
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Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
in Southern California, in the Santa Rosa Mountains
Santa Rosa Mountains
Santa Rosa Mountains may refer to the following mountains in the United States of America:*Santa Rosa Mountains *Santa Rosa Mountains Other similar names include*The Santa Rosa Range in northern Nevada...
of Riverside
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
and San Diego
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
counties, California
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...
. It is in the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
section of the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
, above the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
and Lower Colorado River Valley
Lower Colorado River Valley
The Lower Colorado River Valley is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Sea of Cortez in northwestern Mexico, between the states of Baja...
regions in a Peninsular Range
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...
, between La Quinta
La Quinta, California
La Quinta is a resort city in Riverside County, California, USA, specifically in the Coachella Valley between Indian Wells and Indio. The population was 37,467 at the 2010 census, up from 23,694 at the 2000 census. The Robb Report credits La Quinta as the nation's leading golf destination...
to the north and Anza Borrego Desert State Park to the south. The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
established the wilderness in 1984 with the passage of the California Wilderness Act
California Wilderness Act of 1984
The California Wilderness Act of 1984 is a federal law , passed by the United States Congress on September 28, 1984, that authorized the addition of over within the state of California to the National Wilderness Preservation System....
(Public Law 98-425), managed by the both US Forest Service (13,801 acres) and the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau 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...
(58,458 acres ). In 2009, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act (P.L. 111-11) was signed into law which added more than 2000 acres (8.1 km²). Most of the Santa Rosa Wilderness is within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument is a National Monument in Southern California. It includes portions of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountain ranges, the northernmost ones of the Peninsular Ranges system...
.
The Santa Rosa Mountains have areas of cultural significance containing primitive trails, roasting pits, milling stations, rock shelters and examples of rock art. Native Americans have identified areas that are currently used for temporary habitation, resource collection and ritual hunting. Remains of historical early settlement and mining include quarry sites, mining propects and water improvements associated with natural springs.
Wildlife, vegetation and topography
The wilderness protects habitat that supports the largest herd of Peninsular bighorn sheepBighorn 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...
(Ovis canadensis) in the country. The Bighorn Institute, a non-profit research group established in 1982 by several biologists and veterinarians, estimates approximately 60 adult sheep live in the Santa Rosa Mountains
Santa Rosa Mountains
Santa Rosa Mountains may refer to the following mountains in the United States of America:*Santa Rosa Mountains *Santa Rosa Mountains Other similar names include*The Santa Rosa Range in northern Nevada...
, and a total population of 800 sheep in the Peninsular Ranges north of Mexico.
The Peninsular Range bighorn sheep (United States population) is a subspecies that has been protected since 1971 under the California Endangered Species Protection Act and federally protected since 1998 under the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
(ESA). The Peninsular Range bighorn sheep herd utilize the entire range between 1,000 to 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) elevation. Bear Creek, Deep Canyon and Martinez Canyon are important as summer concentration areas and provide the rugged escape terrain necessary for lambing.
Besides bighorn sheep, there are also 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...
, 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...
and 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...
.
Native rare plants in the Santa Rosa Wilderness include shrubs such as Santa Rosa sage
Salvia
Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, with approximately 700-900 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. It is one of several genera commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to Salvia officinalis ; however, it is...
(Salvia eremostachya), and Nuttall's scrub oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
(Quercus dumosa). Perennial herbs include Santa Rosa Mountains leptosiphon ( Linanthus floribundus ssp. hallii), and triple ribbed milkvetch (Astragalus tricarinatus).
The rugged terrain is formed by uplifted blocks of igneous and metamorphic
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
rocks situated between two major tectonic fault zones, the San Andreas and the San Jacinto. Perennial streams erode the steep-walled canyons and support large fan palm
Fan palm
Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms in various genera with leaves that are palmately compound...
oases. The Santa Rosa Mountain range and the two faults all trend northwest-southeast and are part of the Peninsular Ranges that extend from Southern California to Baja, Mexico.
Recreation
The Santa Rosa Wilderness joins wilderness areas in the San Bernardino National ForestSan Bernardino National Forest
San Bernardino National Forest is a federally-managed forest covering more than 800,000 acres . There are two main divisions which are the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Range, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular...
along its western border and the designated California State Wilderness in Anza Borrego Desert State Park to the south.
Recreational activities in the Santa Rosa Wilderness include backpacking
Backpacking (wilderness)
Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...
, horseback riding, day hiking, and nature study/photography.
- The Boo Hoff equestrian trail is one of the few trails in the wilderness that is constructed and maintained by a local equestrian club.
- The Cactus Spring Trail which is an ancient aboriginal pathway, links the Santa Rosa plateau with the desert floor in the Coachella ValleyCoachella ValleyCoachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
. To the west, this trail connects with designated wilderness areas in the San Bernardino National Forest. - {Oasis|Oases]] trails
- Bear Creek Oasis
- Lost Canyon Oasis
- Guadelupe Canyon and Devil Canyon
- Rockhouse Canyon and valley, in the southern wilderness area, has remnants of early Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and European settlers. - Rabbit Peak, located near the southeastern boundary, is a notable desert peak for its challenging climb to the 6623 feet (2,018.7 m) summit. Local Sierra ClubSierra ClubThe Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
chapters lead organized day and overnight trips to the peak. Universities and local colleges utilize the Santa Rosa Mountains frequently as a living laboratory for scientific and informal studies and outings.
Hunting is restricted to the southem half of the wilderness since the northern portion is located within a State Wildlife Refuge. Deer, quail and dove are hunted in season.
See also
:Category:Fauna of the Colorado Desert:Category:Images of flora of the Lower Colorado River Valley
:Category:Geography of the Colorado Desert
External links
- Official Santa Rosa Wilderness website
- BLM Santa Rosa Wilderness Map
- http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/prog/wilderness/wa/photos/santarosa.html [Santa Rosa Wilderness photographs]
- University of California: Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center
- Summitpost's webpage on Rabbit Peak.
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