Editing Inyo County, California (section)

==Geography==
[[Mount Whitney]], the highest peak in the [[contiguous United States]], is on Inyo County's western border (with [[Tulare County]]). The [[Badwater Basin]] in Death Valley National Park, the lowest place in North America, is in eastern Inyo County. The difference between the two points is about {{convert|14700|ft|m}}. They are not visible from each other, but both can be observed from the [[Panamint Range]] on the west side of Death Valley, above the [[Panamint Valley]]. Thus, Inyo County has the greatest elevation difference among all of the counties and county-equivalents in the contiguous United States.

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|10227|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|10181|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|46|sqmi}} (0.5%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_06.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 26, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925144550/http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_06.txt|archive-date=September 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the second-largest county by area in [[California]] and the [[List of the largest counties in the United States by area|ninth-largest in the United States]] (excluding [[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska|boroughs and census areas in Alaska]]).

===Lakes===
{{div col|colwidth=33em}}
* [[Camp Lake (Inyo County, California)|Camp Lake]]
* [[Cottonwood Lakes]]
* [[Diaz Lake]]
* [[Dingleberry Lake]]
* [[Granite Lake (California)|Granite Lake]]
* [[Inconsolable Lake]]
* [[Loch Leven (California)|Loch Leven]]
* [[Mills Lake]]
* [[Pee Wee Lake]]
* [[Robinson Lake (California)|Robinson Lake]]
* [[Rock Creek (Owens River)|Rock Creek Lake]]
* [[Lake Sabrina]]
* [[Weir Lake (California)|Weir Lake]]
* [[Wishbone Lake]]
{{div col end}}

===National protected areas===
* [[Death Valley National Park]] (part)
* [[Inyo National Forest]] (part)
* [[Manzanar|Manzanar National Historic Site]]

There are 22 official [[wilderness area]]s in Inyo County that are part of the [[National Wilderness Preservation System]]. This is the second-largest number of any county, exceeded only by [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino County]]'s 35 wilderness areas. Most of these are managed solely by the [[Bureau of Land Management]], but four are integral components of Death Valley National Park or Inyo National Forest and are thus managed by either the [[National Park Service]] or the [[United States Forest Service|Forest Service]]. Some of these wilderness areas also extend into neighboring counties.

Except as noted, the wilderness areas are managed solely by the Bureau of Land Management and lie entirely within Inyo County:

{{div col|colwidth=33em}}
* [[Argus Range Wilderness]]
* [[Coso Range Wilderness]]
* [[Darwin Falls Wilderness]]
* [[Death Valley Wilderness]] (part)
* [[Funeral Mountains Wilderness]]
* [[Golden Trout Wilderness]] (part)
* [[Ibex Wilderness]]
* [[Inyo Mountains Wilderness]] (part)
* [[John Muir Wilderness]] (part)
* [[Malpais Mesa Wilderness]]
* [[Manly Peak Wilderness]]
* [[Nopah Range Wilderness]]
* [[Owens Peak Wilderness]] (part)
* [[Pahrump Valley Wilderness]] (part)
* [[Piper Mountain Wilderness]]
* [[Resting Spring Range Wilderness]]
* [[Sacatar Trail Wilderness]] (part)
* [[Saddle Peak Hills Wilderness]] (part)
* [[South Nopah Range Wilderness]]
* [[South Sierra Wilderness]] (part)
* [[Surprise Canyon Wilderness]]
* [[Sylvania Mountains Wilderness]]
{{div col end}}

===Death Valley National Park===
{{Main|Death Valley National Park}}

'''Death Valley National Park''' is a mostly [[arid]] [[United States National Park]] east of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] mountain range in southern Inyo County and northern [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino County]] in [[California]], with a small extension into southwestern [[Nye County, Nevada|Nye County]] and extreme southern [[Esmeralda County, Nevada|Esmeralda County]] in [[Nevada]]. In addition, there is an [[exclave]] ([[Devil's Hole]]) in southern Nye County. The park covers {{convert|5262|sqmi|km2}}, encompassing [[Saline Valley, California|Saline Valley]], a large part of [[Panamint Valley]], almost all of [[Death Valley]], and parts of several [[mountain range]]s.<ref name="NPSindex">[[#NPSindex|National Park Index (2001–2003)]], p. 26</ref> Death Valley National Monument was proclaimed in 1933, placing the area under federal protection. In 1994, the [[U.S. National Monument|monument]] was redesignated a national park, as well as being substantially expanded to include [[Saline Valley, California|Saline]] and [[Eureka Valley, Inyo County|Eureka]] Valleys.<ref name="NPSindex"/>

It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States. It also features the second-lowest point in the [[Western Hemisphere]] and the lowest point in North America at the [[Badwater Basin]], which is {{convert|282|ft|m}} below [[sea level]].<ref name=USGSHighLow/> It is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh [[desert]] environment. Some examples include [[Creosote Bush]], [[Bighorn Sheep]], [[Coyote]], and the [[Death Valley Pupfish]], a survivor of much wetter times. Approximately 95% of the park is designated as [[U.S. Wilderness Area|wilderness]].<ref>[[#NPSwebsite|NPS website]], "Backcountry Roads"</ref> Death Valley National Park is visited annually by more than 770,000 visitors who come to enjoy its diverse geologic features, desert wildlife, historic sites, scenery, clear night skies, and the solitude of the extreme desert environment.

===Other parks===
* [[Alabama Hills#Alabama Hills National Scenic Area|Alabama Hills Recreation Area]]
* [[Last Chance Meadow Research Natural Area]]
* [[John Muir Wilderness#Ecology|California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area]]