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Eldorado National Forest

Coordinates:38°45′N120°20′W/ 38.750°N 120.333°W/38.750; -120.333
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Eldorado National Forest
Map showing the location of Eldorado National Forest
Map showing the location of Eldorado National Forest
LocationEl Dorado,Amador,Alpine,Placercounties,California,andDouglas County,Nevada,United States
Nearest cityPlacerville, CA
Coordinates38°45′N120°20′W/ 38.750°N 120.333°W/38.750; -120.333
Area596,724 acres (2,414.86 km2)
EstablishedJuly 28, 1910
Governing bodyU.S. Forest Service
WebsiteEldorado National Forest

Eldorado National Forestis aU.S. National Forestlocated in the centralSierra Nevadamountain range,in easternCalifornia.

Geography

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A panorama from a trail within the forest

Most of the forest (72.8%) lies inEl Dorado County.In descending order of land area the others counties are:Amador,Alpine,andPlacercounties in California; andDouglas Countyin Nevada with 78 acres (320,000 m2).[1]The forest is bordered on the north by theTahoe National Forest,on the east by theLake TahoeBasin Management Unit, on the southeast by theHumboldt–Toiyabe National Forest,and to the south by theStanislaus National Forest.

Eldorado National Forest headquarters are located inPlacerville, California.There are local ranger district offices inCamino,Georgetown,Pioneer,andPollock Pines.[2]

Land ownership

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A complicated ownership pattern exists. The parcels of other ownership (private or other agency land) are mostly isolated and surrounded on all sides by government land. An opposite pattern occurs outside of the forest boundary, where several small scattered pieces of national forest lands are separated from the main body and surrounded by lands of other ownership.

  • Gross area: 786,994 acres (3,185 km²)
  • Other ownership: 190,270 acres (770 km²)
  • Net area: 596,724 acres (2,415 km²)

Elevations

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The forest ranges in elevation from 1,000 feet (300 m) in thefoothillsto more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above sea level along the Sierra crest. The mountainoustopographyis broken by the steepcanyonsof theMokelumne,Cosumnes,American,andRubiconrivers.Plateausof generally moderate relief are located between these steep canyons.

Wilderness areas

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TheDesolation Wildernessis located within the forest's boundaries, as is most of theMokelumne Wilderness(which extends into neighboringStanislaus National Forestand Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest).

Climate

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Eldorado National Forest in California

A cool montane version ofMediterranean climateextends over most of the forest, with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters.

  • Annual precipitation: 40 to 70 inches (1,000 to 1,800 mm) on average.
    • Precipitation falls mainly from October through April.
  • Temperature range: 0 °F (-20 °C) in winter to 100 °F (38 °C) in the summer.
  • Snow pack: 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3.0 m) on average, can be as high as 15 feet (4.6 m).
    • Snow is present from December to May at elevations above 6,000 feet (1,800 m).

Ecology

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Further information:Ecology of the Sierra Nevada

Vegetation

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A wide variety ofhardwoods,conifers,shrubs,nativegrasses,andforbsare represented in the various Eldorado National Forestecosystems.

The principalplant communitiesfound here are:

Old-growth foreststotaling 122,000 acres (49,000 ha) have been identified in the Eldorado National Forest, consisting of:[3]

Sierra Nevadamixed conifer forests
and

Logging

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The major commercial forest species are white fir, red fir, ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine,sugar pine,Douglas fir,andincense cedar.

Water

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Water is a major resource of the Eldorado National Forest. The forest receives about 56 inches (1,400 mm) ofprecipitationannually. Average annualrunoffis about 29 inches (740 mm). This is equal to an annual water yield of 2.4acre-feet(3,000 m3) per acre (737,000 m³/km²); therefore National Forest lands yield an estimated 1,444,000acre-feet(1.781×109m3) annually.

  • 611 miles (983 km) offishablestreamsin four major drainage systems: Middle Fork of theAmerican River(including the Rubicon), South Fork of the American River, Cosumnes River, and North Fork of the Mokelumne River.
  • 297lakesandreservoirs(including both public and private land), which total 11,994 acres (48.5 km²). 11 large reservoirs account for 9,000 acres (36 km²). The rest are mostly small, high mountain lakes.

Transportation

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The Eldorado National Forest has a high density of transportation routes, with 2,367 miles (3,809 km) of roads, and 349 miles (562 km) of trails. Roads under Forest Service jurisdiction total 2,158 miles (3,473 km). There are 209 miles (336 km) of county roads, and 400 miles (640 km) of private roads within the National Forest boundaries.

History

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The forest was established on July 28, 1910, from a portion ofTahoe National Forestand other lands.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District, and County, 30 September 2008
  2. ^"USFS Ranger Districts by State"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2012-01-19.Retrieved2009-05-20.
  3. ^Warbington, Ralph; Beardsley, Debby (2002),2002 Estimates of Old Growth Forests on the 18 National Forests of the Pacific Southwest Region,United States Forest Service,Pacific Southwest Region
  4. ^Davis, Richard C. (September 29, 2005)."National Forests of the United States(341 KB)"(PDF).The Forest History Society.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 28, 2012.RetrievedAugust 13,2011.
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