Old Woman Mountains Wilderness
This Wilderness area consists of bajadas; extensive flat aprons of alluvium; and the massive, fault-lifted Old Woman Mountains that extend some 35 miles north-south and up to 28 miles in an east-west direction. The mountains take their name from a granite monolith resembling the figure of an old woman, known as the Old Woman Statue (5,000 feet high). The elevations within the Wilderness extend from 800 feet in the drainage bottoms to over 5,300 feet at the top Old Woman Peak. The Old Woman Mountains were the discovery site of the Old Woman Meteorite, which was discovered in 1975 and is the largest meteorite found in California and the second largest in the United States.
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | Bureau of Land Management |
| State | California |
| Size | 165,172 acres |
| Designated | 1994, by Congress |
| Center point | 34.46° N, 115.19° W |
| Night sky | Very dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 31) |
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 Old Woman Mountains Wilderness?
165,172 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Old Woman Mountains Wilderness?
The Bureau of Land Management.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Old Woman Mountains Wilderness in?
California.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Old Woman Mountains Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1994.
Source: Wilderness Connect
How do I get to Old Woman Mountains Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 34.463° N, 115.192° 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.