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Map Satellite Adjacent to the Emigrant Wilderness, this area includes the Sierra Crest and upper eastern slope north to Sonora Peak.
Approximately half of the area is barren rock, with alpine fell fields containing such plants as Gentiana newberryi, Epilobium obcordatum, and Potentilla diversifolia. There are scattered alpine meadows and a subalpine forest, with whitebark pine, Pinus albicaulis, the dominant. Below this, the forest includes open stands of lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana.
A sagebrush scrub, with Artemisia tridentata and snowberry, Symphoricarpos sp., occurs in the drier areas. Two uncommon plants have been reported from the area, Eriogonum gracilipes and Crepis nana ssp. ramosa.
Animals are typical of the High Sierra region and include the yellow-legged frog, Rana muscosa, and the rare Mount Lyell salamander, Hydromantes platycephalus. The prairie falcon, Falco mexicanus, occurs in the area.
Geologically, the area is primarily Pliocene volcanic pyroclastic rocks, principally andesite. There is evidence of glacial action, with cirques, glacial lakes and moraines present. Two small glacierettes lie on the north slope of Leavitt Peak.
Integrity: Off-road vehicles have impacted portions of the area.
Use: Research, educational, observational.
January 1980
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
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