Three Sisters Wilderness

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox protected area The Three Sisters Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Cascade Range, within the Willamette and Deschutes National Forests in Oregon, United States. It comprises Template:Convert, making it the second-largest wilderness area in Oregon, after the Eagle Cap Wilderness. It was established by the United States Congress in 1964 and is named for the Three Sisters volcanoes. The wilderness boundary encloses the Three Sisters as well as Broken Top, which is southeast of South Sister.<ref name="wildnet">Three Sisters Wilderness - Wilderness.net</ref>

Three Sisters was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve under the Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1976, and was one of 17 reserves in the United States withdrawn from the programme in June 2017.<ref name="Three Sisters">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=UNESCO>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="UNESCO Press Release">Template:Cite web</ref>

Oregon Route 242 separates the Three Sisters Wilderness from the Mount Washington Wilderness to the north, while the Waldo Lake Wilderness shares the southern boundary.<ref name="wildnet"/>

The three peaks were known by pioneers as Faith, Hope and Charity.<ref>Template:Cite ogn</ref> Nearby landmarks include The Husband, The Wife, and the Little Brother.<ref name=Friedman>Template:Cite book</ref>

Geology

Many types of landforms make up the wilderness area, but the most common are volcanic features, the most notable being the Cascades which are stratovolcanoes having formed around 1.6 million years ago.<ref name="USGS">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> Numerous cinder cones have formed on their flanks as well as many lava flows that contain hundreds of lava tubes.<ref name="OHDG">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Proxy Falls, Oregon.jpg

Proxy Falls in the wilderness

Topography

The Three Sisters Wilderness ranges in elevation from Template:Convert. The Three Sisters—North Sister at Template:Convert, Middle Sister at Template:Convert, and South Sister at Template:Convert — are found in the eastern portion of the Wilderness. Including Broken Top—just to the south at Template:Convert — there are 14 glaciers offering one of the best examples of the effects of glaciation in the Pacific Northwest. Collier Glacier, between North and Middle Sister, is the largest glacier in Oregon.<ref name="wildnet"/> The headwaters of the Wild and Scenic Whychus Creek (formerly Squaw Creek<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) emerge in the Wilderness.<ref name="wildnet"/>

Vegetation

Forest cover in the Three Sisters Wilderness includes Douglas fir, Pacific silver fir, subalpine fir, mountain hemlock, western hemlock, lodgepole pine and ponderosa pine. A large area of the wilderness above timberline contains alpine meadows.<ref name="usfs">Three Sisters Wilderness - Willamette National Forest</ref>

Recreation

File:Three Sisters Wilderness.JPG

Hikers in the wilderness south of South Sister

Popular recreational activities in the Three Sisters Wilderness include camping, hiking, climbing and fishing. South Sister and Middle Sister are not technically difficult climbs, but summiting North Sister requires technical expertise and equipment. More than Template:Convert of trails cross the wilderness, including Template:Convert of the Pacific Crest Trail.<ref name="usfs"/> The Template:Convert French Pete Trail and its surrounding old-growth forest, a nationwide political issue in the 1970s, are located on the western edge of the wilderness near Cougar Reservoir.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

File:Three Sisters topographic map-en.gif

Topographic map of area

• List of Oregon Wildernesses
• List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
• Wilderness Act

External links

• Three Sisters Wilderness - Willamette National Forest
• Three Sisters Wilderness - Deschutes National Forest
• Wilderness.net Wilderness information
• TopoQuest map of the Three Sisters