Hells Canyon Wilderness (Oregon and Idaho)
| Hells Canyon Wilderness | |
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IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
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From Heaven's Gate Overlook, near Riggins, Idaho
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| Location |
Wallowa County, Oregon Idaho & Adams Counties, Idaho, U.S. |
| Nearest city | Grangeville, Idaho |
| Coordinates | 45°32′56″N 116°30′04″W / 45.549°N 116.501°WCoordinates: 45°32′56″N 116°30′04″W / 45.549°N 116.501°W |
| Area | 217,927 acres (881.92 km2) |
| Established | 1975, 42 years ago |
| Governing body |
U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management |
The Hells Canyon Wilderness is a wilderness area in the western United States, in Idaho and Oregon. Created 42 years ago in 1975, the Wilderness is managed by both the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service and contains some of the most spectacular sections of the Snake River as it winds its way through Hells Canyon, North America's deepest river gorge and one of the deepest gorges on Earth. The Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 added additional acreage and currently the area protects a total area of 217,927 acres (88,192 ha). It lies entirely within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area except for a small 946-acre (383 ha) plot in southeastern Wallowa County, Oregon which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The area that is administered by the Forest Service consists of portions of (in descending order of acreage) the Wallowa, Nez Perce, Payette, and Whitman National Forests.
The Oregon portion of Hells Canyon Wilderness is characterized by two steep breakland areas in excess of 60 percent paralleling the Snake River. These are separated by a benchland at mid-elevation between the river and canyon rim between Saddle Creek and Dug Bar. The dominant vegetation is native bunchgrasses and shrubs. Trees are scattered throughout the Oregon side of the Wilderness, but concentrated on north-facing slopes and in stream bottoms - primarily ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. The three topographic provinces are dissected by many drainages including Saddle, Temperance, Salt, and Sluice Creeks.
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