The Gila Wilderness Area

From Upper Sonoran desert canyons to sub alpine mountain peaks, New Mexico 's Gila Wilderness Area is a world of contrasts and diversity. Named a wilderness region by Congress in 1924, the Gila was the first place in the world to be so protected. Today it encompasses 1,000 square miles and protects the headwaters of the three forks of the Gila River. Blessed with the rich human and natural history, it is home to Indian, Spanish, and Anglo cultures and Central and North American flora and fauna. In this complete guide to the Gila Wilderness Area, John A. Murray explores the region 's natural history, highlights its human history, and provides tips for backcountry trips. The hiking section describes twenty-four trails for both the serious backpacker and the casual day hiker, in all covering some three hundred miles of trail. Each trail description gives directions to the trailhead, length, elevation, level of difficulty, scenic highlights, and natural and human history along the trail.

New Mexico's 555,000-acre Gila Wilderness is a vast untrammeled patchwork of virtually unlimited forest types, climatic conditions, and wildlife.

Field Guide to the Trees of the Gila Region of New Mexico is the definitive guide for field botanists, researchers, students, and avid nature lovers who wish to explore the natural history of native and introduced tree species across the Gila. The book documents over seventy-five tree species in the first wilderness area in the United States--and the largest in New Mexico--known for its wildness, remoteness, and significant recreation opportunities. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the authors feature detailed individual species accounts and special ecological and ethnobotanical information, providing full dichotomous keys to the families, genera, and species of all trees in the region. Color photographs of the species provide diagnostic clarity for easy identification, showing the whole tree, trunk, and foliage as well as macro photos of the flowers, fruits, or cones and other significant features. This comprehensive and user-friendly guide will be welcomed by residents and visitors studying and discovering the diverse trees of the Gila Region.

This comprehensive guide to New Mexico's wild lands includes not only such well-known areas as the Gila and Pecos wildernesses, but also lesser-known regions such as Latir Peaks, Apache Kid, and Bisti De-na-zin wildernesses. It also provides an inventory of the state's more than 50 "wilderness study areas" -- the wilderness areas of the future. With text by New Mexico author Bob Julyan and illustrated with pictures by Tom Till, one of the Southwest's finest outdoor photographers, the book provides a richly colored portrait of New Mexico's wilderness heritage, including suggestions for hikers and insights into each area's unique natural and human history.