Eldorado National Forest

U. S. National Forest in California designated in 1910

Eldorado National Forest is a U. S. National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range, in eastern California.

Most of the forest (72.8%) lies in El Dorado County. In descending order of land area the others counties are: Amador, Alpine, and Placer counties in California; and Douglas County in Nevada with The forest is bordered on the north by the Tahoe National Forest, on the east by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, on the southeast by the Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest, and to the south by the Stanislaus National Forest. Eldorado National Forest headquarters are located in Placerville, California. There are local ranger district offices in Camino, Georgetown, Pioneer, and Pollock Pines.

The forest ranges in elevation from 1000 feet (305 m) in the foothills to more than 10000 feet (3048 m) above sea level along the Sierra crest. The mountainous topography is broken by the steep canyons of the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, American, and Rubicon rivers. Plateaus of generally moderate relief are located between these steep canyons.

The Desolation Wilderness is located within the forest's boundaries, as is most of the Mokelumne Wilderness (which extends into neighboring Stanislaus National Forest and Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest).

A cool montane version of Mediterranean climate extends over most of the forest, with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters. Annual precipitation: on average. Precipitation falls mainly from October through April. Temperature range: 0 °F ( 20 °C) in winter to 100 °F (38 °C) in the summer. Snow pack: on average, can be as high as 15 feet (5 m). Snow is present from December to May at elevations above 6,000 feet (1,800 m).

The major commercial forest species are white fir, red fir, ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, sugar pine, Douglas fir, and incense cedar.

Water is a major resource of the Eldorado National Forest. The forest receives about of precipitation annually. Average annual runoff is about This is equal to an annual water yield of per acre (737,000 m³/km²); therefore National Forest lands yield an estimated annually. 611 mile (983 km) of fishable streams in four major drainage systems: Middle Fork of the American River (including the Rubicon), South Fork of the American River, Cosumnes River, and North Fork of the Mokelumne River. 297 lakes and reservoirs (including both public and private land), which total 11,994 acres (48.5 km²). 11 large reservoirs account for 9,000 acres (36 km²). The rest are mostly small, high mountain lakes.

The Eldorado National Forest has a high density of transportation routes, with 2367 mile (3809 km) of roads, and 349 mile (562 km) of trails. Roads under Forest Service jurisdiction total 2158 mile (3473 km). There are 209 mile (336 km) of county roads, and 400 mile (644 km) of private roads within the National Forest boundaries.

The forest was established on July 28, 1910, from a portion of Tahoe National Forest and other lands.