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38-839: The Trinity Alps are within the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region , in the Klamath Mountains System , which lies between the California Coast Ranges to the west and the Cascade Range to the east. Elevations range from 1,350 feet (411 m) to 9,001 feet (2,744 m) on Thompson Peak . Other notable peaks include Granite Peak (8,094 feet (2,467 m)) and Ycatapom Peak (7,593 feet (2,314 m)). The Trinity Alps are noted for their scenic views and alpine environment. The range's alpine flora differs from that found in

76-573: A great number of bird species. Deer and black bear are commonly seen. Less common but present are mountain lion , pine marten , fisher , and wolverine . Rough-skinned newts are commonly found in ponds and lakes. The Trinity Alps may be home to a cryptozoological phenomenon, the Trinity Alps Giant Salamander. Geologically, the Trinity Alps consist of a mixture of igneous , granite and metamorphic peaks. In

114-602: A region experiencing a long, hot dry season from about mid May to mid October, can disappear completely during a run of drier years. Studies of lichen collars indicate that the site near Kalmia Lake is the snowiest spot in the State of California, receiving snow accumulation in excess of the Lake Helen snowcourse on Lassen Peak , by far the snowcourse with greatest late winter snow accumulation in California. This in turn

152-513: Is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae first described as a genus in 1873. Three species are native to eastern Asia and one to western North America . The genus is related to Thuja , and has similar overlapping scale-leaves. Calocedrus differs from Thuja in the scale leaves being in apparent whorls of four (actually opposite decussate pairs like Thuja , but not evenly spaced apart as in Thuja , instead with

190-584: Is common in winter for cool unstable air masses from the Gulf of Alaska to make landfall in one of the Coast Ranges, resulting in heavy precipitation , both as rain and snow , especially on their western slopes. The same Winter weather occurs with less frequency and precipitation in Southern California, with the mountains' western faces and peaks causing an eastward rainshadow that produces

228-409: Is consistent with the fact of an active glacier under Thompson Peak, while, in contrast, no such active glacier exists under Brokeoff Mountain west of Lassen Peak, higher than Thompson Peak and presenting an ideal NNE-facing zone in the area of maximum snow accumulation beneath an almost-vertical cliff face 1,000 ft (300 m) high. Sufficient snow does accumulate under Brokeoff that in some years

266-517: Is responsible for their current rarity. Incense cedar was the preferred hearth board of the Native Peoples of Northern California for lighting fires by friction. Calocedrus decurrens , the California incense cedar, is a popular ornamental tree , grown particularly in locations with cool summer climates like Britain , Washington and British Columbia . Its very narrow columnar crown in landscape settings, an unexplained consequence of

304-477: Is soft, moderately decay-resistant, and with a strong spicy-resinous fragrance. That of C. decurrens is the primary material for wooden pencils , because it is soft and tends to sharpen easily without forming splinters. The two Asian species were (at least in the past) in very high demand for coffin manufacture in China, due to the scent of the wood and its decay resistance. It is likely that past over-exploitation

342-680: The Great Basin mountain ranges , and other ranges and various plateaus and basins. The Pacific Coast Ranges designation, however, only applies to the Western System of the Western Cordillera, which comprises the Saint Elias Mountains , Coast Mountains , Insular Mountains , Olympic Mountains , Cascade Range , Oregon Coast Range , California Coast Ranges , Transverse Ranges , Peninsular Ranges , and

380-707: The Gulf of California . Although many of the ranges do share a common geologic history, the Pacific Coast Ranges province is not defined by geology, but rather by geography. Many of the various ranges are composed of distinct forms of rock from many different periods of geological time from the Precambrian in parts of the Little San Bernardino Mountains to 10,000-year-old rock in the Cascade Range. For one example,

418-705: The Mojave (High) , and Sonoran (Low) Deserts, i.e. the Pacific Border province . The same term is used informally in Canada to refer to the Coast Mountains and adjoining inland ranges such as the Hazelton Mountains , and sometimes also the Saint Elias Mountains . The character of the ranges varies considerably, from the record-setting tidewater glaciers in the ranges of Alaska, to

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456-600: The Pacific Mountain System in the United States ; French : chaînes côtières du Pacifique ; Spanish : cadena costera del Pacífico ) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico . Although they are commonly thought to be the westernmost mountain range of the continental United States and Canada,

494-725: The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers' San Francisco Bay , the Santa Clara River 's Oxnard Plain , the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana Rivers' Los Angeles Basin  – a coastal sediment-filled plain between the peninsular and transverse ranges with sediment in the basin up to 6 miles (10 km) deep, and the San Diego River's Mission Bay . From the vicinity of San Francisco Bay north, it

532-976: The Sierra Madre Occidental . The term Coast Range is used by the United States Geological Survey to refer only to the ranges south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington to the California-Mexico border , and to those west of Puget Sound , the Willamette Valley , and the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys (the California Central Valley ). That definition excludes the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges ,

570-752: The Sierra Nevada or the Cascades. Within the Klamath Mountains, adjacent subranges of the Trinity Alps include the Salmon Mountains and Scott Mountains . The Trinity Alps Wilderness covers 517,000 acres (2,090 km), making it the second largest wilderness area in California. The area was formerly known as the Salmon-Trinity Alps Primitive Area since 1932 until a series of expansions. The lowest snowfield in California that does not disappear except in

608-848: The 21st century were the Salmon Glacier and the Grizzly Glacier, a 15-acre (61,000 m) icefield on the north side of Thompson Peak, which showed crevasses indicating true motion even on so small an icefield. The Salmon Glacier went extinct in 2015. The Grizzly Glacier was declared extinct in the fall of 2022. On the ridge south of Sapphire Lake is an unusual phenomenon consisting of a temporary glacier, versus an inactive snowfield that melts out in dry years. Following years of heavy accumulation, an icefield appears in this fully sheltered north-facing cirque that can show active crevasses and seracs some tens of feet high. But this ice body, at an elevation of only 7,500 ft (2,300 m) in

646-615: The High Sierra of Yosemite National Park and Kings Canyon National Park , but more heavily than the nearby Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness . The most popular destinations beyond the trailheads are Canyon Creek Lakes, Emerald and Sapphire Lakes on the Stuart Fork, and Granite Lake on the Swift Creek trail. The western ridges are mostly lower in elevation with fewer lakes, and ridgetop trails there can be hot and dry in

684-629: The Klamath National Forest, and the western boundary extends into the Six Rivers National Forest. There are also private inholdings, especially in the eastern portions. The wilderness contains hiking trails, backcountry camping, and scenery. Access is off California State Route 299 on the south, CA Route 3 on the east, and various old logging and mining roads on the north and west. Wilderness permits are required for hiking. The Pacific Crest Trail connects

722-632: The Peninsular Ranges, composed of Mesozoic batholitic rock, are geologically extremely different from the San Bernardino Mountains , composed of a mix of Precambrian metamorphic rock and Cenozoic sedimentary rock. However, both are considered part of the Pacific Coast Ranges due to their proximity and similar economic and social impact on surrounding communities. These are the members of the Pacific Coast Ranges, from north to south: These are not named as ranges, but amount to

760-846: The Southern California coast the Channel Islands archipelago of the Santa Monica Mountains extends for 160 miles (260 km). There are coastal plains at the mouths of rivers that have punched through the mountains spreading sediments, most notably at the Copper River in Alaska, the Fraser River in British Columbia, and the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon. In California:

798-795: The accretion of the Siletzia terrane began in the Pacific Northwest. This began the volcanic activity in the Cascadia subduction zone , forming the modern Cascade Range, and lasted into the Miocene . Events here may relate to the ignimbrite flare-up of the southern Basin and Range . As extension in the Basin and Range Province slowed by a change in North American Plate movement circa 7 to 8 Million years ago, rifting began on

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836-754: The arid desert regions . Omitted from the list below, but often included is the Sierra Nevada, a major mountain range of eastern California that is separated by the Central Valley over much of its length from the California Coast Ranges and the Transverse Ranges. On the West coast of North America, the coast ranges and the coastal plain form the margin. Most of the land is made of terranes that have been accreted onto

874-727: The eastern mountains are the Red Trinities, due to reddish ultramafic peridotite; in the central granitic batholith are the White Trinities; and in the western mountains are the Green Trinities, due to more extensive forest cover. The region contains much pine and fir forest as well as meadows, creeks, and lakes. The US Forest Service , Shasta-Trinity National Forest , manages most of the Trinity Alps Wilderness . The northern boundary extends into

912-490: The extreme runs of dry years is located above Mirror Lake at an elevation of 6,600 ft (2,000 m). Research had shown that some glaciers in the Trinity Alps were more resistant to the effects of global warming than are other California glaciers. According to recent, but incorrect, USGS maps, 35 permanent bodies of snow and several tiny glaciers dotted the highest peaks of the Alps. The only glaciers to survive to

950-946: The geologically distinct Insular Mountains of Vancouver Island lie farther west. The Pacific Coast Ranges are part of the North American Cordillera (sometimes known as the Western Cordillera, or in Canada , as the Pacific Cordillera and/or the Canadian Cordillera), which includes the Rocky Mountains , the Columbia Mountains , the Interior Mountains , the Interior Plateau , the Sierra Nevada ,

988-481: The lakes have been stocked with rainbow , brown or brook trout , and some have self-sustaining populations. The major streams of the North Fork Trinity River and New River watersheds have spawning chinook salmon , and some have steelhead . The Trinity Alps are home to much wildlife, including: American black bear , mountain lion , bobcat , blacktailed deer , lizards , chipmunks , and

1026-662: The margin. In the north, the insular belt is an accreted terrane, forming the margin. This belt extends from the Wrangellia Terrane in Alaska to the Chilliwack group of Canada. A rupture in Rodinia 750 million years ago formed a passive margin in the eastern Pacific Northwest. The breakup of Pangea 200 million years ago began the westward movement of the North American plate, creating an active margin on

1064-811: The northeast corner of the Trinity Alps to the Russian Wilderness and Marble Mountain Wilderness to the north and the Castle Crags Wilderness in the Trinity Divide to the east. Less-visited areas include New River, Salmon Mountain, Horse Linto Creek , Pony Buttes, and Limestone Ridge in the west, and Packers Peak, Deadman Peak, and Eagle Peak in the Scott Mountains. Most of the area is visited much less heavily than many other wilderness areas in California, such as in

1102-590: The rugged Central and Southern California ranges, the Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges , in the chaparral and woodlands eco-region with Oak Woodland , Chaparral shrub forest or Coastal sage scrub -covering them. The coastline is often seen dropping steeply into the sea with photogenic views. Along the British Columbia and Alaska coast, the mountains intermix with the sea in a complex maze of fjords , with thousands of islands. Off

1140-405: The same thing. The Pacific Coast Ranges are home to the largest temperate-latitude icefields in the world. Only the largest icefields are listed above; smaller icefields may be listed on the various range pages. Formally unnamed icefields are not listed Calocedrus Heyderia K.Koch 1873 non Link 1833 Calocedrus , the incense cedar (alternatively spelled incense-cedar ),

1178-436: The snowfield there experiences incipient glacial motion. Two moraines below it, one very recent, provide clear evidence at least of mass transport in the recent past at that site. These moraines are quite a bit smaller than those found below the Thompson Peak glacieret. The Trinity Alps section of the Klamath Mountains Ecoregion is botanically outstanding by having the second greatest number of conifer species of any place in

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1216-418: The subducting Farallon plate split and formed the Kula Plate to the North. This formed an area in what is now Northern California, where the plates converged forming a Mélange . North of this was the Columbia Embayment , where the continental margin was east of the surrounding areas. Many of the major batholiths date from the late Cretaceous . As the Laramide Orogeny ended around 48 million years ago,

1254-460: The successive pairs closely then distantly spaced), and in the cones having just 2–3 pairs of moderately thin, erect scales, rather than 4–6 pairs of very thin scales in Thuja . The generic name Calocedrus means "beautiful cedar". Cladogram showing the evolutionary relationships: C. decurrens (Torrey) Florin C. macrolepis Kurz C. formosana (Florin) Florin C. rupestris Aver., Nguyên & Lôc Incense cedar

1292-480: The summer. Trails do not reach all of the lakes; cross-country routes are possible. The Trinity Alps overlook Trinity Lake to the east, a large reservoir of the federal Central Valley Project on the Trinity River . Hunting occurs for deer, bear, and bandtailed pigeon in season. Rock climbing is excellent in the areas with granite cliffs, such as Caribou Peak and Sawtooth Ridge. Pacific Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as

1330-439: The trails include the carnivorous California pitcher plant ( Darlingtonia californica ), the showy pinkish Lewisia cotyledon , and the rare Trinity Alps endemic wildflower Trinity penstemon ( Penstemon tracyi ). Sagebrush is found on ridges in the Scott Mountains. Large fires have burned through some of the forests in the wilderness, including much of the 105,855-acre (428.38 km) Iron/Alps Complex fire in 2008. Most of

1368-420: The western continent. As the continent drifted West, terranes were accreted onto the west coast. The timing of the accretion of the insular belt is uncertain, although the closure did not occur until at least 115 million years ago. Other Mesozoic terranes that accreted onto the continent include the Klamath Mountains , the Sierra Nevada, and the Guerrero super-terrane of western Mexico. 90–80 million years ago

1406-812: The world. Russian Peak, in the Russian Wilderness just north of the Trinity Alps, has the greatest number of conifer species in North America. So many genera and species of conifers exist together because the Trinity Alps are at the intersection of the Mediterranean climate of the south and the Northwestern coastal climate, which has a shorter dry season. Northern tree species, such as subalpine fir ( Abies lasiocarpa ), Pacific silver fir ( Abies amabilis ), and Engelmann spruce ( Picea engelmannii ) are found here, as well as southern trees, such as incense cedar ( Calocedrus decurrens ), ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa ), and white fir (Abies concolor) , plus unique populations of foxtail pine (Pinus balfouriana) and weeping spruce ( Picea breweriana ). Other plants along

1444-557: Was one of the favored varieties of wood used to make bows by Native Americans in California. Like juniper , and Pacific yew , the other two coveted bow woods among Pacific Natives, this wood has excellent flexibility and compression strength-weight ratio. When backed with sinew, it produces extremely flexible, fast, hard-hitting bows, which are rivaled only by horn-sinew composite bows for their ability to store and release elastic energy. The archer Saxton Pope observed that Ishi used this wood to produce short bows. The wood of Calocedrus

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