Inyo National Forest

Updated on Sep 21, 2024

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Website Inyo National Forest Established May 1907		Area 7,703 km² Nearest city Bishop

Location Eastern Sierra Nevada Range Governing body USDA / U.S. Forest Service Management United States Forest Service

Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest point in the Contiguous United States; Boundary Peak, highest point in Nevada; and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest that protects the oldest trees in the world.

Map of Inyo National Forest, Nevada 89010, USA

Geography

The forest covers 1,903,381 acres (2,974 sq mi; 7,703 km²) and includes nine designated wilderness areas which protect over 800,000 acres (1,200 sq mi; 3,200 km²). Most of the forest is in California, but it includes about 60,700 acres (95 sq mi; 246 km²) in western Nevada. It stretches from the eastern side of Yosemite to south of Sequoia National Park. Geographically it is split in two, one on each side of the Long Valley Caldera and Owens Valley.

The John Muir Wilderness is a part of the Inyo National Forest and abuts Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park along the crest of the Sierra. The northern part of the Inyo National Forest is preserved as a part of the Ansel Adams Wilderness area, which borders Yosemite National Park. Together, the wilderness areas and parks form one contiguous area of protected wilderness of more than 1.5 million acres (6,100 km²).

The Inyo National Forest was named after Inyo County, California, in which much of the forest resides. The name "Inyo" comes from a Native American word meaning "dwelling place of the great spirit".

The forest spans parts of Inyo, Mono, Tulare, Fresno and Madera counties in California, and Esmeralda and Mineral counties in Nevada.

The forest's headquarters are in Bishop, California, with ranger district offices in Bishop, Lee Vining, Lone Pine, and Mammoth Lakes. The forest was established on May 25, 1907. On July 1, 1945 land from the former Mono National Forest was added.

Wilderness areas

There are nine wilderness areas lying within Inyo NF that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Some of these extend into other National Forests, as indicated:

Ansel Adams Wilderness (mostly in Sierra NF and partly in Devils Postpile NM)

Boundary Peak Wilderness

Golden Trout Wilderness (partly in Sequoia National Forest)

Hoover Wilderness (mostly in Toiyabe NF)

Inyo Mountains Wilderness

John Muir Wilderness (mostly in Sierra NF)

Owens River Headwaters Wilderness

South Sierra Wilderness (partly in Sequoia NF)

White Mountains Wilderness

Ecology

The forest also harbors an estimated 238,000 acres (963 km²) of old-growth forests. The most abundant trees in these forests are Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) and Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi)

The Inyo National Forest contains the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, which protects specimens of Great Basin Bristlecone Pines (Pinus longaeva). One of these Bristlecone Pines is "Methuselah", the second oldest known non-clonal living tree on earth, over 4,839 years old; the oldest known tree (discovered 2013) also lives in the park.

Film Location

Inyo National Forest was the site for a movie starring Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea, "Ride the High Country" in 1962, Steve McQueen, "Nevada Smith" in 1966, Charlton Heston, "Will Penny" in 1968, as well as "Joe Kidd" 1972 and "High Plains Drifter" 1973, both starring Clint Eastwood. It was also the filming location of the 1998 Sci-fi film, Star Trek Insurrection.

Inyo Forest also served as the filming location for the second half of the second episode in BBC's Walking with Monsters, set in Early Permian Germany.