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Stanislaus National Forest

U.S. National Forest designated in 1976

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ2898163 ↗
Source-derived summary

Stanislaus National Forest is a U.S. national forest which manages 898,099 acres (1,403.3 sq mi; 3,634.5 km2) of land in four counties in the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. It was established on February 22, 1897, making it one of the oldest national forests. It was named after the Stanislaus River.

Geography

The forest is located primarily in eastern Tuolumne County, adjacent to the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park, but parts of it extend (in descending order of forestland area) into Southern Alpine County, Northern Mariposa County and Eastern Calaveras County. Forest headquarters are located in Sonora, California. There are local ranger district offices in Groveland, Hathaway Pines, and Pinecrest.

The Emigrant Wilderness is located entirely within its boundaries. Portions of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, including the Dardanelles Cone, and the Mokelumne Wilderness are also within the Stanislaus National Forest.

Features

It contains 78 lakes and 811 miles (1,305.2 km) of rivers and streams. It has 1,100 miles (1,770.3 km) of non-motorized trails and 2,859 miles (4,601.1 km) of roads, 188 miles (302.6 km) of which are paved.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Stanislaus National Forest” as u.S. National Forest designated in 1976. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1897—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1897-02-22. The account is most persuasive where Stanislaus, National and Forest can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as u.S. National Forest designated in 1976. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2898163. VIAF identifies the subject as 156146898. The Library of Congress control number is sh86006126. Authority coordinates are 38.250, -120.000. 1 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1897.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Stanislaus National Forest”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Stanislaus National Forest primary sources, Stanislaus National Forest archive and Stanislaus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Stanislaus National Forest”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Stanislaus National Forest” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.