The Russian Wilderness is a wilderness area of 12,000 acres (49 km2) located approximately 65 miles (105 km) northeast of Eureka in northern California. It is within the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County and is managed by the US Forest Service. It was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System when the US Congress passed the California Wilderness Act of 1984.
The Russian Wilderness protects the Russian Mountains, a portion of the high crest of the Salmon Mountains, which are composed of metamorphic and granitic rock. There are over twenty named lakes at different elevation levels as well as the major watersheds of the Scott River and North Fork Salmon River.
The Russian is one of three wilderness areas that form an almost continuous chain, from the Trinity Alps Wilderness to the south, and the Marble Mountain Wilderness in the north, these areas provide an important corridor for wildlife such as the migrating herds of black-tailed deer. The Russian Wilderness is part of the largest nearly roadless complex in northwestern California.
Elevations range from 2,500 feet (760 m) to the high point of the wilderness, Russian Peak, at 8,196 feet (2,498 m) .
Read more about Russian Wilderness: Flora and Fauna, Geology, Recreation, Roadless Areas
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)