Inyo National Forest

[[File:Ritter and banner.jpg|thumb|right|288px|[[Mount Ritter]] and [[Banner Peak]] along the [[John Muir Trail]]]] [[File:Bristlecone Pines USA Ca.jpg|thumb|right|288px|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 (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] of [[California]], and the [[White Mountains (California)|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 {{convert|2|e6acre|mi2 km2}}, and includes nine designated [[National Wilderness Preservation System|wildernesse]]s which protect over {{convert|800,000|acre|mi2 km2}}. Most of the forest is in [[California]], but it includes about {{convert|60,700|acre|mi2 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 National Park|Sequoia]] and [[Kings Canyon National Park]] along [[Sierra crest|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 wildernesses and parks form one contiguous area of protected wilderness of more than {{convert|1.5|e6acre}}. The Inyo National Forest was named after [[Inyo County, California]], in which much of the forest resides. The forest spans parts of Inyo, [[Mono County, California|Mono]], [[Tulare County, California|Tulare]], and [[Madera County, California|Madera]] counties in California, and [[Esmeralda County, Nevada|Esmeralda]] and [[Mineral County, Nevada|Mineral]] counties in [[Nevada]]. The forest's headquarters are in [[Bishop, California]], with [[National Park Ranger|ranger]] district offices in Bishop, [[Lee Vining, California|Lee Vining]], [[Lone Pine, California|Lone Pine]], and [[Mammoth Lakes, California|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 {{convert|238000|acre|ha}} of [[old-growth forest]]s. 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 Pine]]s (Pinus longaeva). One of these Bristlecone Pines is "[[Methuselah (tree)|Methuselah]]", the oldest known [[cloning|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 (California)|June Lake]] * [[Lone Pine, California|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]]