From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ventana Wilderness is a wilderness area located in the Santa Lucia Mountains along the Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969 when the Ventana Wilderness Act abolished the 55,800 acre Ventana Primitive Area and replaced it with the 98,000 acre Ventana Wilderness. In 1978, the Endangered American Wilderness Act added 61,000 acres, increasing the total wilderness area to about 159,000 acres. The California Wilderness Act of 1984 added about 2,750 acres. In 1992, the Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act created the approximately 14,500 acre Silver Peak Wilderness and added about 38,800 acres to the Ventana Wilderness. (The bill also designated the Big Sur River as a wild and scenic river.) Most recently, the Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002 expanded the wilderness for the fifth time, adding nearly 35,000 acres, increasing the total acreage of the wilderness to its present size of 240,026 acres.[1]
Ventana Wilderness is named for the unique notch called "The Window" on a ridge near Ventana Double Cone. A land bridge supposedly once connected the top of the notch, leaving a natural 'window' for which the early Spaniards named this region. It was purportedly destroyed during an earthquake, although without photographic evidence it will likely remain hearsay.
The topography of the Ventana Wilderness is characterized by steep-sided, sharp-crested ridges separating V-shaped youthful valleys. Most streams fall rapidly through narrow, vertical-walled canyons flowing on bedrock or a veneer of boulders. Waterfalls, deep pools and thermal springs are found along major streams. Elevations range from 600 feet, where the Big Sur River leaves the Wilderness, to about 5,750 feet at the wilderness boundary near Junipero Serra Peak.
Marked vegetation changes occur within the Wilderness, attributable to dramatic climatic and topographic variations coupled with an extensive fire history. Much of the Ventana is covered by chaparral, a fire-prone plant community consisting largely of chamise and various species of manzanita and ceanothus. Other plant communities found in area include oak woodland (Coast Live Oak, Valley Oak, etc.) and pine woodlands (Coulter Pine and Knobcone Pine). Deep narrow canyons cut by the fast moving Big Sur and Little Sur rivers support stands of coastal redwood, some old growth. Small scattered stands of the rare, endemic Bristlecone Fir may be found on rocky slopes and canyon bottoms.
There is an extensive network of trails and several trailheads that provide access into the Wilderness. The Pine Ridge trailhead at Big Sur Station near Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is by far the most popular starting point. Other trailheads include Bottchers Gap, Los Padres Dam, China Camp, and Arroyo Seco. Much of the area is very rugged and trails within the Wilderness can be overgrown and challenging. As is the case in most designated Wilderness areas, motorized equipment and mechanized transport are not allowed.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Ventana Wilderness Alliance — Dedicated to the protection, preservation, enhancement and restoration of the wilderness qualities and biodiversity of the public lands within California's northern Santa Lucia Mountains.
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