Nature
Wheeler Peak Wilderness is a protected high-country landscape in northern New Mexico’s Carson National Forest that includes Wheeler Peak, the state’s highest point, along with Williams Lake, alpine terrain, streams, and lakes. First protected in 1960 as the Wheeler Peak Wild Area, it became wilderness in 1964 and was greatly enlarged in 1980, with a later boundary adjustment transferring some land to Taos Pueblo in 1996. Its habitats shift with elevation, from cottonwoods at lower levels to bristlecone pine, Engelmann spruce, and subalpine fir higher up. Marmots, pikas, bighorn sheep, golden eagles, elk, deer, and stocked trout help define this prominent mountain wilderness.
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New Mexico · United States
