Hoover Wilderness

Hoover Wilderness extends along the eastern crest of the Sierra for some 45 kilometers (28 miles) and borders Yosemite National Park for much of its length. Approximately half of the area is barren, mainly Mesozoic granitic rocks, though there are metavolcanics and metasedimentaries predating the granitics. The average elevation is around 2,750 meters (9,000 feet).

Some twenty percent of the area is timberland, with lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana, the dominant, though whitebark pine, Pinus albicaulis, Jeffrey pine, Pinus jeffreyi, and mountain hemlock, Tsuga mertensiana, are present in varying amounts. A sagebrush scrub, with Artemisia tridentata conspicuous, occupies approximately a quarter of the wilderness. There are some alpine meadows and alpine fell fields.

A variety of animal life is found here, including otter, Lutra canadensis, and beaver, Castor canadensis. Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, use portions of the area as a summer range.

There is a variety of glacial features, including cirques, U-shaped valleys, and moraines. In the Matterhorn Peak region there are several small glaciers or perennial snowfields.

Integrity: The area was designated a Primitive Area in 1931 and a Wilderness in 1957. The southern portion near the Tioga Pass is somewhat impacted by use.

Use: Research, educational, observational, present.

December 1979