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50 Years of Desolation Wilderness
DESOLATIONWILDERNESS
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Recreation and Education In Desolation Wilderness
Celebrating 50 Years of Preservation,
Sierra Rec Magazine, October 2019 – In 1969, the Lake Tahoe Region became hometo Americas newest Wilderness Area, Desolation Wilderness. A 64,000 acre plot ofland once called the “Devils Valley” inhabited only by the Washoe and set aside asthe Desolation Valley Primitive Area in 1931.
Desolation Wilderness in 50 years has become one of the most visited wilderness areas in the United States. With the proximity to Lake Tahoe and the easy of access provided by numerous trailheads from every side of the wilderness boundary, let alone the famed PCT which crosses the full length of the wilderness region, hundreds of thousands visit the granite basin, clear blue lakes and towering peaks that make up the Desolation Wilderness each year.
“It only takes a few miles of hiking to make you feel completely transported into another world when hiking in Desolation Wilderness”
Although it is commonly believed that Lake Tahoe was formed by the collapse of a volcanic crater, the Basin was actually formed by the rise and fall of the landscape due to faulting.
About 24 million years ago the Sierra Nevada block was formed by tremendous uplifting. Two principal faults evolved: the eastern margin created the Carson Range, while the Sierra Nevada developed on the western side. From the “up thrown” fault blocks, the highest peaks in the region originated while the “down thrown” block sank creating a large valley.
