Mokelumne Wilderness

The Mokelumne Wilderness is a 105165acre federally designated wilderness area located 70mi east of Sacramento, California. It is within the boundaries of three national forests: Stanislaus, Eldorado and Toiyabe. First protected under the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Mokelumne’s borders were expanded under the California Wilderness Act of 1984 with the addition of 55,000 acres. The wilderness takes its name from the Mokelumne River, which was named after a Mi-wok Indian village located on the riverbank in California's Central Valley.The wilderness encompasses an area of the Sierra Nevada mountain range between Ebbetts Pass to Carson Pass. There are two sections separated by the Blue Lakes Road and an Off-Road Vehicle corridor.Elevations range from 4000ft to 10381ft. The highest point is Round Top (10,364 feet), a remnant volcano from which the wilderness area's volcanic soils are derived from and is located on the east side of the Sierra crest.Landscape, flora and faunaThe west slopes have been eroded by glaciation and water down to the granite bedrock which has created a dramatic contrast between the volcanic and the granitic landscapes.