UC White Mountain Research Center

We operate three field stations to support college-level instruction and research throughout the entire eastern Sierra Nevada region.

The stations, forming an elevation gradient from Owens Valley high into the White Mountains, provide lodging, labs, and work space to scientists and students from all over the country and world.

We also maintain a small research hut on the summit of White Mountain Peak at 4342 m (14,252’). The geologic exposure, steep topography, high elevation, arid climate, and potential for winter access make us uniquely valuable for scientific study and education.

We have a long history supporting scientific achievement for over 70 years and play an important research role in many scientific disciplines including, but not limited to, physiology, astrophysics, archaeology, anthropology, ecology, biology, geology, geography, and medicine. Research in these and many other subjects continues today.

We are known internationally as an unsurpassed site for education in Earth science. Every year geology field camps are based at our stations and thousands of students have been trained here.

White Mountain Research Center (formerly White Mountain Research Station) is a unit of the University of California Natural Reserve System, and the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

Year Founded
1950
Year Joined OBFS
2004
Size of Field Station (hectares)
101-500
FSML Web Address
https://www.wmrc.edu

Private nonprofit organization?
No
Universities affiliated / Parent Organization
UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Federal, state, or local governmental partners?
USFS
Member of the Virtual Field
No

Additional Information

Private nonprofit organization?
Names of Universities affilated
0
Federal, state, or local governmental partners?
USFS
Name of partner
Tribal partners/users
Yes
MSI/HBCU users
No
Community College users
Yes
Member of the Virtual Field
No

Visiting a FS/ML

Open to the Public
No
Year round staff
3-5
Seasonal staff
6-10
Overnight housing facilities/# of beds
11-20
Distance to emergency services
61+
Library
No
Hiking trails
Yes
Internship employment
No

Environmental Information

Biomes
Desert
Minimum Elevation
751-1500 meters
Maximum Elevation
3000+ meters
Köppen climate classification
B (arid)
Freshwater habitats
Yes
Urban or rural
Agricultural fields
No

Research

REU host station
No
Dry lab space
Yes
Wet Lab space
No
Research vessels available
No
GIS capacity on site
No
Long term data sets
Yes
On site herbarium or voucher species
Formal Data Management Plan
Yes
Mesocosms, plots, stream diversions, or other sets ups for outdoor manipulative experiments
No
Date Joined OBFS
February 5, 2025