Little Granite

Little Granite Research Natural Area (RNA) was established to represent a mosaic captured in a gradient ranging from subalpine to shrub-steppe. The RNA is on steep, generally west-facing slopes above Hells Canyon. The benches and stream bottom rise steadily to two major lake basins which form the headwaters of Little Granite Creek. Both lake basins are located in subalpine cirques formed by glaciation. The southern lake basin contains Baldy Lake and the northern lake basin contains Echo, Quad, He Devil, Triangle, and Purgatory Lakes. Steep lower slopes are covered with bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum) canyon grasslands. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga) forests are abundant throughout the RNA. Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) forests are on the upper slopes of Little Granite drainage and the lake’s basin. These forests are dominated by subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), and whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). Quillwort (Isoetes spp.) is the dominant vegetation among the shallow waters of subalpine lakes basin. Riparian and wetland communities are dominated by willow, Sitka alder (Alnus sinuata), and white alder (Alnus rhombifolia) associations with oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor) and big huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) as dominant understory.