High Uintas Wilderness

High Uintas Wilderness
Naturalist Basin, in the High Uintas Wilderness
Map showing the location of High Uintas Wilderness
Map showing the location of High Uintas Wilderness
Location in Utah
Map showing the location of High Uintas Wilderness
Map showing the location of High Uintas Wilderness
Location in United States
LocationDuchesne / Summit counties, Utah, USA
Nearest cityKamas, Utah
Coordinates40°44′18″N 110°29′49″W / 40.7382776°N 110.4968294°W / 40.7382776; -110.4968294[2]
Area456,705 acres (1,848 km2)[3]
EstablishedSeptember 18, 1984
Governing bodyU.S. Forest Service

The High Uintas Wilderness /juːˈɪntəz/ is a wilderness area located in northeastern Utah, United States. The wilderness covers the Uinta Mountains, encompassing parts of Duchesne and Summit counties. Designated as a wilderness in 1984, the area is located within parts of Ashley National Forest and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The highest peak in Utah, Kings Peak, lies within the wilderness area along with some of Utah's highest peaks, particularly those over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters).

Mirror Lake Highway is closed in the winter, usually opening annually near Memorial Day. Winter access is allowed for snowmobiling (though snowmobiling is not allowed within the Wilderness Area), cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.

Summit ridge, High Uintas. Note series of glacial cirques gnawed into the ridge.

Despite being filmed in Canada, the area is specifically referred to in, and the setting for most of, the 2017 film The Mountain Between Us.

Climate

There is a SNOTEL weather station near Brown Duck Lake, in the southeast of the High Uintas Wilderness. Brown Duck has a subalpine climate (Köppen Dfc).

Climate data for Brown Duck, Utah, 1991–2020 normals, 1986-2020 extremes: 10600ft (3231m)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 56
(13) 		67
(19) 		74
(23) 		70
(21) 		73
(23) 		78
(26) 		83
(28) 		86
(30) 		79
(26) 		69
(21) 		63
(17) 		51
(11) 		86
(30)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 46.7
(8.2) 		47.9
(8.8) 		54.9
(12.7) 		59.6
(15.3) 		64.8
(18.2) 		70.7
(21.5) 		76.7
(24.8) 		74.0
(23.3) 		68.9
(20.5) 		60.2
(15.7) 		52.4
(11.3) 		44.2
(6.8) 		77.4
(25.2)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 30.4
(−0.9) 		33.3
(0.7) 		40.9
(4.9) 		45.8
(7.7) 		52.6
(11.4) 		60.6
(15.9) 		68.0
(20.0) 		65.8
(18.8) 		57.6
(14.2) 		47.0
(8.3) 		36.3
(2.4) 		28.5
(−1.9) 		47.2
(8.5)
Daily mean °F (°C) 19.1
(−7.2) 		20.1
(−6.6) 		26.3
(−3.2) 		31.3
(−0.4) 		39.5
(4.2) 		46.4
(8.0) 		55.3
(12.9) 		53.5
(11.9) 		46.0
(7.8) 		35.8
(2.1) 		25.2
(−3.8) 		18.0
(−7.8) 		34.7
(1.5)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 7.9
(−13.4) 		7.0
(−13.9) 		11.8
(−11.2) 		16.8
(−8.4) 		26.4
(−3.1) 		35.4
(1.9) 		42.5
(5.8) 		41.1
(5.1) 		34.2
(1.2) 		24.6
(−4.1) 		14.0
(−10.0) 		7.6
(−13.6) 		22.4
(−5.3)
Mean minimum °F (°C) −10.5
(−23.6) 		−10.7
(−23.7) 		−5.0
(−20.6) 		0.3
(−17.6) 		11.5
(−11.4) 		23.7
(−4.6) 		35.0
(1.7) 		33.5
(0.8) 		21.8
(−5.7) 		7.6
(−13.6) 		−5.6
(−20.9) 		−11.1
(−23.9) 		−16.2
(−26.8)
Record low °F (°C) −20
(−29) 		−29
(−34) 		−14
(−26) 		−13
(−25) 		−1
(−18) 		15
(−9) 		26
(−3) 		24
(−4) 		6
(−14) 		−11
(−24) 		−21
(−29) 		−27
(−33) 		−29
(−34)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.29
(84) 		3.33
(85) 		3.02
(77) 		3.37
(86) 		2.75
(70) 		1.53
(39) 		1.97
(50) 		2.32
(59) 		2.79
(71) 		3.07
(78) 		2.63
(67) 		3.21
(82) 		33.28
(848)
Source 1: XMACIS2[4]
Source 2: NOAA (Precipitation)[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Protected Area Profile for High Uintas Wilderness from the World Database on Protected Areas. Retrieved May 2 2023.
  2. ^ "High Uintas Wilderness". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  3. ^ "High Uintas Wilderness". Ashley National Forest, United States Forest Service. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  4. ^ "xmACIS2". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "Brown Duck, Utah 1991-2020 Monthly Normals". Retrieved November 17, 2023.

Further reading

  • Lynna P. Howard, Utah's Wilderness Areas: The Complete Guide (Westcliffe Publishers, 2005) ISBN 1-56579-388-9
  • Bill Cunningham & Polly Burke, Wild Utah: A Guide to 45 Roadless Recreation Areas (Falcon Publishing, 1998) ISBN 1-56044-616-1
  • Jeffrey Probst & Brad Probst, High Uintas Backcountry: A Guide and Trip Planner (Outland Publishing, 1996) ISBN 0-9655871-2-6
  • Mel Davis & John Veranth, High Uinta Trails (Wasatch Publishers, 1993) ISBN 0-915272-37-7
  • Philip L. Fradkin, Sagebrush Country: Land and the American West (The University of Arizona Press, 1989) ISBN 0-8165-1236-1
  • Arave, Lynn, High Uintas Wilderness (Images of Amercia) (Arcadia Publishing, 2024) ISBN 9781467160926
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