Thousand Lakes Wilderness
Map SatelliteWith less than 50 mapped lakes but with a number of potholes, the name of this wilderness is hyperbolic. The lakes, many glacial in origin, range in size from "potholes" to a kilometer (0.6 mile) in length. The Thousand Lakes Valley was formed by glacial action and is covered with glacial deposits, moraines, etc., which overlie the earlier Pleistocene volcanics that cover most of the area.
Vegetation includes lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana, white and red fir, Abies concolor and Abies magnifica, in the valley. A mixed conifer forest with Jeffrey, ponderosa, sugar and Western white pines, Pinus jeffreyi, Pinus ponderosa, Pinus lambertiana and Pinus monticola, together with white fir, Abies concolor, occurs on the slopes of the various peaks and buttes. Some white-bark pine, Pinus albicaulis, is found in the higher elevations, and there is a report of the occurrence of a small patch of foxtail pine, Pinus balfouriana, here.
Chaparral covers much of the area and here is dominated by manzanita, Arctostaphylos patula, chinquapin, Chrysolepis sempervirens, and mahala mat, Ceanothus prostratus.
There is a variety of animals present. The wolverine, Gulo luscus, may occur here. Of note are the introduced elk, Cervus canadensis, which occasionally are seen in the wilderness.
(See also Devils Rock Garden, adjacent to the south.)
Integrity: The area has few trails and is virtually undisturbed.
Use: Research, educational, present.
May 1981
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman