Cache Creek Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Cache Creek Wilderness is a 27,245 acre wilderness area located in Lake County, California
. The wilderness was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System
when the United States Congress
passed the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act
in 2006 (Public Law 109-362). The Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) is the agency in charge.
The centerpiece of the wilderness is Cache Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River
(in high rainfall years). Cache Creek is one of two tributaries (Putah Creek is the other) that are the most southerly of the significant east-flowing Coast Range drainages in the Sacramento River hydrologic basin
and provides important riparian and fish habitat. More than 30 miles (48.3 km) of Cache Creek is designated a California Wild and Scenic River.
The wilderness area is within the larger Cache Creek Natural Area of more than 70000 acres (283.3 km²), and has a wide variety of plant and animal life, including a year-round population of bald eagle
s and California's second-largest herd of rare endemic tule elk
.
Highest elevation point is Brushy Sky High at 3176 feet (968 m). A topography of steep, rounded hills, open meadows, cliffs and stream canyons support vegetation of manzanita
, interior live oak
, scrub oak, deerbrush, toyon
, birchleaf mahogany
, and gray pine
as well as serpentine and chemise chaparral. Streamside vegetation include trees of willow
, alder
, and grasses such as sedge
and bulrush
.
Rare native plants observed in the Cache Creek area include Hall's harmonia, an aromatic annual wildflower, and the adobe lily which are listed by the California Native Plant Society as category 1B-meaning the plant meets all criteria of section 2062 of the California Endangered Species Act.
There are significant archaeological sites documented, including the remains of a large Hill Patwin
village occupied around 11,000 years ago.
The Cache Creek area has been and continues to be a popular recreation site for a variety of activities including white-water rafting (called the "wilderness run"), bird watching, hiking, backpacking, fishing and nature photography.
Adjacent to the wilderness is the 2330 acres (9.4 km²) Cache Creek Wildlife Area that is managed by the California Department of Fish and Game
, Yolo County Parks and Bureau of Land Management. Wildlife species include black-tailed deer, tule elk, wild turkey, quail, rabbit, gray squirrel, dove, pigeon, bear, raccoon and mountain lion.
, shale
, chert
and conglomerate
belonging to the Franciscan group, Upper Jurassic age. These sediments are of marine origin with extensive folding and faulting. In some places, dikes of serpentinized rock are intruded into the sediments. This is overlain by unmetamorphized sandstone and shale of Cretaceous age, also of marine origin and also folded and faulted with thick serpentine rock interbedded.
Serpentine
rock forms from peridotite
that has received intense heat and pressure when down near a subduction zone of Earth's tectonic plates. Geologists believe that the rock then surfaces at these zones because of its lower density than the surrounding rocks. Serpentine soils have high levels of metals such as asbestos, copper, mercury and magnesium
, among others, that are toxic to many plants. Some plants have not only adapted, but have evolved to grow almost exclusively in serpentine soils. The leather oak (Quercus durata var. durata) is one example. Many of these serpentine-adapted plants are also endemic to the state, as this type of soil is not widespread outside of California. Approximately 20% of the state's rare and endemic plants grow in serpentine soils.
Lake County, California
Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...
. The wilderness was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System
National Wilderness Preservation System
The National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States protects federally managed land areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. It was established by the Wilderness Act upon the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964...
when 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....
passed the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act
Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act
The Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act is a U.S. federal law enacted in 2006 that enlarged existing wilderness boundaries and created new wilderness areas for protection under the National Wilderness Preservation System...
in 2006 (Public Law 109-362). The Department of Interior's 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...
(BLM) is the agency in charge.
The centerpiece of the wilderness is Cache Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
(in high rainfall years). Cache Creek is one of two tributaries (Putah Creek is the other) that are the most southerly of the significant east-flowing Coast Range drainages in the Sacramento River hydrologic basin
and provides important riparian and fish habitat. More than 30 miles (48.3 km) of Cache Creek is designated a California Wild and Scenic River.
The wilderness area is within the larger Cache Creek Natural Area of more than 70000 acres (283.3 km²), and has a wide variety of plant and animal life, including a year-round population of bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s and California's second-largest herd of rare endemic tule elk
Tule Elk
The tule elk is a subspecies of elk found only in California, ranging from the grasslands and marshlands of the Central Valley to the grassy hills on the coast. The subspecies name derives from the tule that it feeds off of, which grows in the marshlands...
.
Highest elevation point is Brushy Sky High at 3176 feet (968 m). A topography of steep, rounded hills, open meadows, cliffs and stream canyons support vegetation of manzanita
Manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia, Washington to California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and...
, interior live 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...
, scrub oak, deerbrush, toyon
Toyon
Heteromeles arbutifolia , and commonly known as Toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to California down to Baja California....
, birchleaf mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
, and gray pine
Gray Pine
Pinus sabiniana , with the common names gray pine, California foothill pine, and the more historically and internationally used digger pine, is a pine endemic to California in the United States...
as well as serpentine and chemise chaparral. Streamside vegetation include trees of willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
, alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
, and grasses such as sedge
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
and bulrush
Typha
Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...
.
Rare native plants observed in the Cache Creek area include Hall's harmonia, an aromatic annual wildflower, and the adobe lily which are listed by the California Native Plant Society as category 1B-meaning the plant meets all criteria of section 2062 of the California Endangered Species Act.
There are significant archaeological sites documented, including the remains of a large Hill Patwin
Patwin
The Patwin are a Wintun people native to the area of Northern California. The Patwin were a southern branch of the Wintun group and native inhabitants of California from 1,000 up to 4,000 years....
village occupied around 11,000 years ago.
The Cache Creek area has been and continues to be a popular recreation site for a variety of activities including white-water rafting (called the "wilderness run"), bird watching, hiking, backpacking, fishing and nature photography.
Adjacent to the wilderness is the 2330 acres (9.4 km²) Cache Creek Wildlife Area that is managed by the California Department of Fish and Game
California Department of Fish and Game
The California Department of Fish and Game is a department within the government of California, falling under its parent California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Game manages and protects the state's diverse fish, wildlife, plant resources, and native habitats...
, Yolo County Parks and Bureau of Land Management. Wildlife species include black-tailed deer, tule elk, wild turkey, quail, rabbit, gray squirrel, dove, pigeon, bear, raccoon and mountain lion.
Geology
The wilderness is within the upper basin of the Cache Creek drainage area and is composed of sandstoneSandstone
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,...
, shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
, chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
and conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
belonging to the Franciscan group, Upper Jurassic age. These sediments are of marine origin with extensive folding and faulting. In some places, dikes of serpentinized rock are intruded into the sediments. This is overlain by unmetamorphized sandstone and shale of Cretaceous age, also of marine origin and also folded and faulted with thick serpentine rock interbedded.
Serpentine
Serpentinite
Serpentinite is a rock composed of one or more serpentine group minerals. Minerals in this group are formed by serpentinization, a hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle...
rock forms from peridotite
Peridotite
A peridotite is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock, consisting mostly of the minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium, reflecting the high proportions of magnesium-rich olivine, with appreciable iron...
that has received intense heat and pressure when down near a subduction zone of Earth's tectonic plates. Geologists believe that the rock then surfaces at these zones because of its lower density than the surrounding rocks. Serpentine soils have high levels of metals such as asbestos, copper, mercury and magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
, among others, that are toxic to many plants. Some plants have not only adapted, but have evolved to grow almost exclusively in serpentine soils. The leather oak (Quercus durata var. durata) is one example. Many of these serpentine-adapted plants are also endemic to the state, as this type of soil is not widespread outside of California. Approximately 20% of the state's rare and endemic plants grow in serpentine soils.
External links
- UC Davis bioregion website-some outdated information, but gives a good description of the general area, plants, wildlife and historic and prehistoric uses.