East Cactus Plain Wilderness
An immense desert with an intricate crescent-dune topography, the East Cactus Plain Wilderness is a land of shifting sands interspersed with more stable structures. This Wilderness encompasses the eastern third of the Cactus Plain and ranges in elevation from approximately 1,200 to 1,500 feet. Dense dune-shrub vegetation grows here, and some of the plants–such as woolly heads, sand flat milk vetch, Death Valley Mormon tea, and linearleaf sand spurge–are seldom, if ever, found elsewhere in Arizona. The elf owl, flat-tailed horned lizard, and the Mojave Desert fringe-toed lizard roam this land, often beyond human purview.
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | Bureau of Land Management |
| State | Arizona |
| Size | 14,630 acres |
| Designated | 1990, by Congress |
| Center point | 34.07° N, 113.94° W |
| Night sky | Very dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 33) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees
The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.
Weather by month
Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.
Where to camp
No federal campground is within ten miles of the boundary in the Campsite Atlas index. Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from trails and water, with no facilities; the managing agency page has the permit and group-size rules.
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Reference
Questions people ask
How big is East Cactus Plain Wilderness?
14,630 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages East Cactus Plain Wilderness?
The Bureau of Land Management.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is East Cactus Plain Wilderness in?
Arizona.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was East Cactus Plain Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1990.
Source: Wilderness Connect
How do I get to East Cactus Plain Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 34.068° N, 113.945° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Sources
- Boundary, name, acreage, designation year, states and description: Wilderness Connect.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, points inside the boundary.
- Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
- Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.