- Clearwater National Forest
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Clearwater National Forest IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area)
Location Idaho, USA Nearest city Orofino, ID Coordinates 46°33′4″N 115°9′37″W / 46.55111°N 115.16028°WCoordinates: 46°33′4″N 115°9′37″W / 46.55111°N 115.16028°W Area 2,612,000 acres (10,570 km²) Established 1908 Governing body U.S. Forest Service Clearwater National Forest is located in North Central Idaho in the northwestern United States. The forest is bounded on the east by the state of Montana, on the north by the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, and on the south and west by the Nez Perce National Forest and Palouse Prairie.
The forest is 1.8 million acres (7,300 km²) and contains mountains and river drainage areas. The Lochsa and Clearwater Rivers flow through the forest region. Portions of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness are also located in the forest. In descending order of land area the forest is located in Idaho, Clearwater, and Shoshone counties. Forest Service headquarters are located in Orofino, Idaho. There are local ranger district offices in Kamiah, Kooskia, Lolo (Montana), Orofino, and Potlatch (all in Idaho, except as indicated).[1]
The Clearwater National Forest is home to the well-known Jerry Johnson Hot Springs and the smaller Weir Creek Hot Springs. Both springs are accessible via trails from U.S. Highway 12 and are popular tourist attractions, drawing visitors from Idaho and western Montana.
Lewis and Clark travelled through the region in their journey westward in 1805-1806. Upon reaching Lolo Pass at the eastern edge of the forest on September 15, 1805, William Clark was quoted as saying,
"From this mountain I could observe high rugged mountains in every direction as far as I could see."
The Clearwater National Forest was established on July 1, 1908 with 2,687,860 acres (10,877.4 km2) from parts of Coeur d'Alene National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest. On October 29, 1934 part of Selway National Forest was added.[2]
References
- ^ USFS Ranger Districts by State
- ^ Davis, Richard C. (September 29, 2005), National Forests of the United States, Forest History Society, http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Places/National%20Forests%20of%20the%20U.S.pdf
External links
Federal National ParksNational MonumentsNational ForestsBitterroot • Boise • Caribou-Targhee • Clearwater • Coeur d'Alene • Idaho Panhandle • Kaniksu • Kootenai • Nez Perce • Payette • Salmon-Challis • Sawtooth • St. Joe • Wallowa–Whitman • Wasatch-CacheNational Wildlife RefugesBear Lake • Camas • Deer Flat • Grays Lake • Kootenai • Minidoka • Oxford Slough Waterfowl Production AreaBig Jacks Creek • Bruneau-Jarbidge Rivers • Craters of the Moon • Frank Church-River of No Return • Gospel Hump • Hells Canyon • Little Jacks Creek • North Fork Owyhee • Owyhee River • Pole Creek • Selway-Bitterroot • SawtoothState Bear Lake • Bruneau Dunes • Castle Rocks • City of Rocks • Coeur d'Alene Parkway • Dworshak • Eagle Island • Farragut • Harriman • Hells Gate • Henrys Lake • Heyburn • Lake Cascade • Lake Walcott • Land of the Yankee Fork • Lucky Peak • Massacre Rocks • McCroskey • Old Mission • Ponderosa • Priest Lake • Round Lake • Thousand Springs • Three Island Crossing • Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes • Winchester Lake •Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation (website) Categories:- IUCN Category VI
- National Forests of Idaho
- Regions of Idaho
- Protected areas established in 1908
- Protected areas of Idaho County, Idaho
- Protected areas of Clearwater County, Idaho
- Protected areas of Shoshone County, Idaho
- Idaho geography stubs
- Western United States protected area stubs
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