Mokelumne Wilderness | |
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Map of the United States | |
Location | Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, Alpine / Amador / Calaveras counties, California, United States |
Nearest city | South Lake Tahoe, California (north), Markleeville, California (east) |
Coordinates | 38°35′00″N 119°58′43″W / 38.58333°N 119.97861°W |
Area | 105,165 acres (425.59 km2) |
Established | 1964 |
Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
The Mokelumne Wilderness is a 105,165-acre (164 sq mi; 426 km2)[1] federally designated wilderness area located 70 miles (110 km) east of Sacramento, California. It is within the boundaries of three national forests: Stanislaus, Eldorado and Toiyabe. First protected under the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Mokelumne's borders were expanded under the California Wilderness Act of 1984 with the addition of 55,000[2] acres. The wilderness takes its name from the Mokelumne River, which was named after a Mi-wok Indian village located on the riverbank in California's Central Valley.[3]
The wilderness encompasses an area of the Sierra Nevada mountain range between Ebbetts Pass and Carson Pass. There are two sections separated by the Blue Lakes Road and an Off-Road Vehicle corridor.
Elevations range from 4,000 feet (1,200 m) to 10,381 feet (3,164 m). The highest point is Round Top (10,364 feet[4]), a remnant volcano from which the wilderness area's volcanic soils are derived.