The North Fork John Day Wilderness is a wilderness area within the Umatilla and Wallowa–Whitman National Forests in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon.The wilderness consists of four separate units: the main 85000acre unit of the North Fork John Day drainage; the Greenhorn Unit to the south; the Tower Mountain Unit to the north; and the Baldy Creek Unit to the east. Approximately 6000acre of the Vinegar Hill-Indian Rock Scenic Area also lie within the wilderness.The North Fork John Day Wilderness is located within the larger Elkhorn Fire Management Area, and the area's fire plan allows for the use of Prescribed Natural Fire under certain circumstances.TopographyThe North Fork John Day Wilderness is composed of rolling benchlands, steep ridges, alpine lake basins, and the granite outcrops of the Greenhorn Mountains at an elevation of 8100ft. It encompasses two entire subranges of the Blue Mountains—the Greenhorn Mountains and the ragged Elkhorn Mountains. A continuous vegetative canopy covers most of the land, including dense virgin stands of conifer species like Douglas-fir, white fir, western larch and lodgepole pine. The headwaters of several waterways are located in the wilderness, including Bull Creek, Baldy Creek, and Crawfish Creek, as well as the North Fork John Day River, 39mi of which are designated Wild and Scenic.
