Inyo National Forest

Inyo National Forest
IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area)
Hikers access Mount Whitney, highest point in the Continental United States, through the Inyo National Forest
Map of the United States
Location	Eastern Sierra Nevada Range
Nearest city	Bishop, California
Coordinates	37°51′10″N 118°17′10″W
Area	2 million acres (3,100 sq mi; 8,100 km2)
Established	May, 1907
Governing body	USDA / U.S. Forest Service
Official website

Mount Ritter and Banner Peak along the John Muir Trail

The Shulman grove of Bristlecone pines

Inyo National Forest is a federally administered forest in the United States. The forest covers parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California, and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. It contains two wilderness areas: the John Muir Wilderness and the Ansel Adams Wilderness. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest point in the Contiguous United States; and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest that protects the oldest trees in the world.

Geography

The forest covers more than 2 million acres (3,100 sq mi; 8,100 km²), and includes nine designated wilderness areas which protect over 800,000 acres (1,200 sq mi; 3,200 km²). Most of the forest is in California, but it includes about 60,700 acres (94.8 sq mi; 246 km²) in western Nevada. It stretches from the eastern side of Yosemite to south of Sequoia National Park. Geographically it is split in two, one on each side of the Long Valley Caldera and Owens Valley.

The John Muir Wilderness is a part of the Inyo National Forest and abuts Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park along the crest of the Sierra. The northern part of the Inyo National Forest is preserved as a part of the Ansel Adams Wilderness area, which borders Yosemite National Park. Together, the wilderness areas and parks form one contiguous area of protected wilderness of more than 1.5 million acres (6,100 km²).

The Inyo National Forest was named after Inyo County, California, in which much of the forest resides. The name "Inyo" comes from a Native American word meaning "dwelling place of the great spirit." .

The forest spans parts of Inyo, Mono, Tulare, and Madera counties in California, and Esmeralda and Mineral counties in Nevada.

The forest's headquarters are in Bishop, California, with ranger district offices in Bishop, Lee Vining, Lone Pine, and Mammoth Lakes. The forest was established on May 25, 1907. On July 1, 1945 land from the former Mono National Forest was added.

Ecology

The forest also harbors an estimated 238,000 acres (96,000 ha) of old-growth forests. The most abundant trees in these forests are Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) and Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi)

The Inyo National Forest contains the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, which protects specimens of Great Basin Bristlecone Pines (Pinus longaeva). One of these Bristlecone Pines is "Methuselah", the oldest known non-clonal living tree on earth, over 4,839 years old.

Destinations

Popular within Inyo National Forest are:

• Mono Lake
• Mono-Inyo Craters
• Tioga Lake
• Tioga Pass
• June Lake
• Lone Pine
• Mammoth Lakes
• Mount Whitney
• Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
• Lake Sabrina
• Westgard Pass

See also

• Sierra Nevada (U.S.)
• Owens Valley
• White Mountains (California)
• Mono Lake
• Devils Postpile National Monument

External links

• "Inyo National Forest Home Page". U.S. Forest Service. http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPwhQoY6BdkOyoCAPkATlA!/?ss=110504&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=FSE_003853&navid=091000000000000&pnavid=null&position=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&ttype=main&pname=Inyo%20National%20Forest-%20Home. Retrieved 2011-08-22. 
• "Inyo National Forest Map". U.S. Forest Service. http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/forestvisitormaps/inyo/. Retrieved 2011-08-22.