Area 50.72 km² Established 2009 | Nearest city Boise | |
 | ||
Governing body Bureau of Land Management | ||
The Pole Creek Wilderness is located on the high rhyolite and basalt plateaus of Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho in the western United States. Its whitewater rapids are a popular attraction.
Contents
Geography
The Pole Creek Wilderness has canyons over 800 feet (240 m) deep, and sagebrush and grassland plateaus. These canyons in Owyhee County have been called "the largest concentration of sheer-walled volcanic rhyolite and basalt canyons in the western United States". There are no designated trails.
Legislative history
The Pole Creek Wilderness was created by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. Also created in the Omnibus Land Act were five additional southwestern Idaho wilderness areas in Owyhee County, collectively known as the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas:
The act of 2009 added 517,025 acres (209,233 ha) of wilderness within the state of Idaho.
Natural history
The Pole Creek Wilderness lies within the Owyhee Desert, part of the northern Basin and Range ecoregion, although hydrologically the wilderness area is within the Snake River – Columbia River drainage. The area is home to mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, sage grouse, hawks, eagles, falcons, songbirds and many rare plants.