Sequoia National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location	California, USA
Nearest city	Visalia
Coordinates	36°26′0″N 118°41′0″W / 36.43333, -118.68333
Area	404,051 acres (1,635 km²)
Established	October 1, 1890
Total visitation	954,507 (in 2006)
Governing body	National Park Service

Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron) trees in the Giant Forest

Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Visalia, California in the United States of America. It was established in 1890 as the third U.S. national park, after Yellowstone National Park and the now-decommissioned Mackinac National Park. The park spans 404,051 acres (1,635 km²). Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13,000 feet (3,962.4 meters), the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421.1 meters) above sea level. The park is adjacent to Kings Canyon National Park; the two are administered by the National Park Service as one unit, called Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada A national park is a reserve of land, usually, but not always (see National Parks of England and Wales), declared and owned by a national government, protected from most human development and pollution. ... Image File history File links Red_pog. ... Image File history File links US_Locator_Blank. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately 230 miles southeast of San Francisco and 190 miles north of Los Angeles. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 352 KB) Giant Sequoia trees in the Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park (Photo by Carey Goldstein) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 352 KB) Giant Sequoia trees in the Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park (Photo by Carey Goldstein) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Binomial name (Lindl. ... Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada A national park is a reserve of land, usually, but not always (see National Parks of England and Wales), declared and owned by a national government, protected from most human development and pollution. ... The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is mostly in eastern California. ... Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately 230 miles southeast of San Francisco and 190 miles north of Los Angeles. ... “Yellowstone” redirects here. ... Mackinac National Park was U.S. National Park that existed from 1875 to 1895 on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan. ... Mount Whitney is the highest point in the contiguous United States at elevation 14,505 feet (4,421 meters). ... This article is about Kings Canyon National Park, USA. For Kings Canyon, Australia, see Kings Canyon (Northern Territory). ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ...

The park is most famous for its Giant Sequoia trees, including the General Sherman tree, the largest tree on Earth. The General Sherman tree grows in the Giant Forest, which contains five out of the ten largest trees in the world, in terms of wood volume. The Giant Forest is connected by the park's Generals Highway to Kings Canyon National Park's Grant Grove, home to the General Grant tree among other sequoias. Binomial name Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl. ... General Sherman tree from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks The General Sherman tree is a Giant Sequoia. ... Giant Forest is part of Sequoia National Park, famed for its Giant Sequoia trees. ... The Generals Highway is a highway that connects California State Highway 180 and California State Highway 198. ... Grant Grove is a sequoia grove located in Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada in eastern California, at 36°45N 118°58W. It includes General Grant tree, one of the five largest Giant Sequoias in existence. ... General Grant tree from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks The General Grant tree is the largest Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park. ...

Front country

A rocky outcrop near the southern entrance

Many park visitors enter the park through its southern entrance near the town of Three Rivers at Ash Mountain at 1700 ft (518 m) elevation. The lower elevations around Ash Mountain contain the only National Park Service-protected California Foothills ecosystem, consisting of blue oak woodlands, foothills chapparal, grasslands, yucca plants, and steep, mild river valleys. The foothills region is also home to abundant wildlife: bobcats, foxes, ground squirrels, rattlesnakes, and mule deer are commonly seen in this area, and much more rarely, reclusive mountain lions are seen as well. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 1. ... Three Rivers is a census-designated place located in Tulare County, California. ... Binomial name Quercus douglasii The Blue oak (Quercus douglasii) is an oak in the white oak section of the genus, Quercus sect. ... Chapparal can also mean a US Army surface to air missile system based on the Sidewinder air-to-air missile system. ... Species many, see text Yucca filamentosa in New Zealand Yucca decipiens in Zacatecas, Mexico Joshua Trees growing in the Mojave Desert. ... For other uses, see Bobcat (disambiguation). ... A red fox The foxes comprise 23 species of omnivorous canids, found worldwide. ... Species about 38: see text. ... Species about 30 Rattlesnakes is a group of venomous New World snakes, genera Crotalus and Sistrurus, which have a small noise-making jointed rattle on their tails. ... Binomial name (Rafinesque, 1817) The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is a deer whose habitat is in the western half of North America. ... Binomial name Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771) The puma (Puma concolor) is a type of large cat found in North, Central and South America. ...

Moro Rock is a scenic lookout in the center of the Park.

Moving up in the park, we reach an elevation where winter snowfalls determine which plants survive. Here we find the montane forest-dominated coniferous belt, between approx. 5,500 and 9,000 ft (1,676.4 and 2 743.2 m) in elevation. Found here are Ponderosa, Jeffrey, Sugar, and Lodgepole pine trees, as well as abundant white and red fir. Found here too are the mighty Sequoia trees, the most massive living trees on earth. Between the trees, spring and summer snowmelts sometimes fan out to form lush, though delicate, meadows. In this region, visitors often see mule deer, Douglas squirrel, and American black bears, who have been known to break into unattended cars to steal food left by careless visitors. Image File history File links United States National Park Service photo of Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, California. ... Image File history File links United States National Park Service photo of Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, California. ... Moro Rock should not be confused with Morro Rock on the Pacific Coastline in Morro Bay. ... Eucalyptus Forest at Swifts Creek in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. ... Binomial name Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) is a widespread and very variable pine native to western North America. ... Binomial name Pinus jeffreyi Balf. ... Binomial name Pinus lambertiana Douglas The Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana; family Pinaceae) is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of Oregon and California in the western United States, and Baja California in northwestern Mexico; specifically the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Ranges, and the Sierra... Binomial name Pinus contorta Douglas Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) is a common tree in western North America. ... Binomial name Abies concolor (Gordon) Lindley ex Hildebrand White Fir (Abies concolor) is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at altitudes of 900-3,400 m. ... Binomial name Abies magnifica A.Murray The Red Fir (Abies magnifica) is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. ... Binomial name (Lindl. ... Binomial name (Rafinesque, 1817) The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is a deer whose habitat is in the western half of North America. ... Binomial name Tamiasciurus douglasii (Bachman, 1839) Desolation Wilderness (Sierra Nevada) The Douglas Squirrel, Tamiasciurus douglasii, is a pine squirrel found in the Pacific coastal states and provinces of North America. ... “Black Bear” redirects here. ...

Back country

The vast majority of the park is roadless wilderness; in fact, to the surprise of many visitors, no road crosses the Sierra Nevada within the park's boundaries. This leaves over 84% of the park's area as designated wilderness,^[1] accessible only by foot or by horse.

Tamarack Meadow at 9500ft/2900m, below Triple Divide Peak, in the backcountry of Sequoia NP.

Sequoia's backcountry offers a vast expanse of high-alpine wonders. Covering the highest-elevation region of the High Sierra, the backcountry includes Mount Whitney on the eastern border of the park, accessible from the Giant Forest via the High Sierra Trail. On a traveler's path along this 35 mi/56 km backcountry trail, one passes through about 10 miles/16km of montane forest before reaching the backcountry resort of Bearpaw Meadow, just short of the Great Western Divide. Bearpaw Meadow offers rustic tent cabins and gourmet meals cooked by a seasonal resident park crew. Image File history File linksMetadata TamarackMdw. ... Image File history File linksMetadata TamarackMdw. ... The High Sierra Trail is a hiking trail in Sequoia National Park, California, United States. ...

Continuing along the High Sierra Trail over the Great Western Divide via Kaweah Gap, one passes from the Kaweah River Drainage, with its characteristic V-shaped river valleys, and into the Kern River drainage, where an ancient fault line has aided glaciers in the last ice age to create a U-shaped canyon that is almost perfectly straight for nearly 20 miles (32km). On the floor of this canyon, at least 2 days' hike from the nearest road, is the Kern Canyon hot spring, a popular resting point for weary backpackers. From the floor of Kern Canyon, the trail ascends again over 8000 ft (2 438 m) to the summit of Mount Whitney. The Kaweah Gap is the lowest east-west pass through the Great Western Divide, in Sequoia National Park, California, USA. As such, the High Sierra Trail was routed through it. ...

At Mount Whitney, the High Sierra Trail meets with the John Muir Trail and the epic Pacific Crest Trail, which continue northward along the Sierra crest and into the backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park. John Muir Trail is a long-distance trail in California, running 211 miles (340 km) from the Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney. ... The Pacific Crest Trail (also known as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail) is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail that runs from the United States border with Mexico to its border with Canada and follows the highest portion of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range which parallel... This article is about Kings Canyon National Park, USA. For Kings Canyon, Australia, see Kings Canyon (Northern Territory). ...

The High Sierra Trail passes over the Great Western Divide at Kaweah Gap, climbing some 5000 ft (1524 m) in 3 miles (5 km). The valley below it is referred to as Valhalla.

Image File history File linksMetadata KaweahGap. ... Image File history File linksMetadata KaweahGap. ... The High Sierra Trail is a hiking trail in Sequoia National Park, California, United States. ... The Great Western Divide is a small side range of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain in California. ... The Kaweah Gap is the lowest east-west pass through the Great Western Divide, in Sequoia National Park, California, USA. As such, the High Sierra Trail was routed through it. ...

Human History

The area which now comprises Sequoia National Park was first home to Monachee (or Western Mono) Native Americans, who resided mainly in the Kaweah River drainage in the Foothills region of the park, though evidence of seasonal habitation exists even as high as the Giant Forest. In the summertime, Native Americans would travel over the high mountain passes to trade with tribes to the East. To this day, pictographs can be found at several sites within the park, notably at Hospital Rock and Potwisha, as well as bedrock mortars used to process acorns, a staple food for the Monachee people. This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... Pictogram for public toilets A pictogram or pictograph is a symbol which represents an object or a concept by illustration. ...

By the time the first European settlers arrived in the area, smallpox had already spread to the region, decimating Native American populations. The first European settler to homestead in the area was Hale Tharp, who famously built a home out of a hollowed-out fallen Giant Sequoia log in the Giant Forest next to Log Meadow. Tharp allowed his cattle to graze the meadow, but at the same time had a respect for the grandeur of the forest and led early battles against logging in the area. From time to time, Tharp received visits from John Muir, who would stay at Tharp's log cabin. Tharp's log can still be visited today in its original location in the Giant Forest. For other persons named John Muir, see John Muir (disambiguation). ...

However, Tharp's attempts to conserve the Giant Sequoias were at first met with only limited success. In the 1880s, white settlers seeking to create a utopian society founded the Kaweah Colony, which sought economic success in trading Sequoia timber. However, Sequoia trees, unlike their Coast Redwood relatives, were later discovered to splinter easily and therefore were ill-suited to timber harvesting, though tragically thousands of trees were felled before logging operations finally ceased. Kaweah Colony originally named the General Sherman tree as the Karl Marx tree. ... Binomial name Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. ...

American Black Bear, marked with a radio collar. This bear has most likely been fed by visitors and is being tracked by the Park Service to make sure it returns to its natural habits.

The National Park Service incorporated the Giant Forest into Sequoia National Park in 1890, the year of its founding, promptly ceasing all logging operations in the Giant Forest. The park has expanded several times over the decades to its present size; one of the most recent expansions occurred in 1978, when grassroots efforts, spearheaded by the Sierra Club, fought off attempts by the Walt Disney Corporation to purchase a high-alpine former mining site south of the park for use as a ski resort. This site was annexed to the park to become Mineral King, the highest-elevation developed site within the park and a popular destination for backpackers. Image File history File linksMetadata CollaredBear. ... Image File history File linksMetadata CollaredBear. ... “Black Bear” redirects here. ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization founded on May 28, 1892 in San Francisco, California by the well-known preservationist John Muir, who became its first president. ... Alternate meanings: Disney (disambiguation) The Walt Disney Company (also known as Disney Enterprises, Inc. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

Speleology

Little known to many visitors, the park is home to over 240 known caves, and potentially hundreds more. The caves in the park include California's longest cave at over 20 mi (30 km), Lilburn Cave, as well as spectacular, recently-discovered caves that remain strictly off-limits to all but a handful of specialists who visit on rare occasions to study cave geology and biology. The only cave open to park visitors remains Crystal Cave, the park's second-longest (at over 3.4 mi/5.5 km), and remarkably well-preserved for the volume of visitation it receives annually. Crystal Cave is a limestone cave in Sequoia National Park, one of at least 240 known caves in the park. ...

Stalactites in Marble Hall of Crystal Cave.

Park caves, like most caves in the Sierra Nevada of California, are mostly solution caves dissolved from marble. Marble rock is essentially limestone that was metamorphosed by the heat and pressure of the formation and uplift of the Sierra Nevada Batholith (ca. 50-10 million years ago). The batholith's rapid uplift over the past 10 million years led to a rapid erosion of the metamorphic rocks in the higher elevations, exposing the granite beneath; therefore, most Sierra Nevada caves are found in the middle and lower elevations (below 7000 ft/2133 m), though some caves are found in the park at elevations as high as 10 000 ft (3 048 m) such as the White Chief cave in Mineral King. These caves are carved out of the rock by the abundant seasonal streams in the park; most of the larger park caves currently have or have had sinking streams running through them. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3108x2072, 2001 KB)Stalactites in the Crystal Cave. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3108x2072, 2001 KB)Stalactites in the Crystal Cave. ... Crystal Cave is a limestone cave in Sequoia National Park, one of at least 240 known caves in the park. ... Venus de Milo, front. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ... Quartzite, a form of metamorphic rock, from the Museum of Geology at University of Tartu collection. ... Glacier-sliced Half Dome, Yosemite, a classic granite dome of the Sierra Nevada Batholith The Sierra Nevada Batholith is a large batholith in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, USA, and is a continuous granitic formation that forms much of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. ...

Caves are discovered every year in the park; in fact, 17 have been discovered since 2003 alone. The most recently discovered major cave in the park, in September 2006, has been named Ursa Minor.^[2] Park caves are valued by scientists and cavers alike for their pristine beauty, variety, and endemic cave life. sport of exploring caves. ... Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope. ...

Crescent Meadow in the Giant Forest, called by John Muir the "Gem of the Sierras"

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 283 KB) Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park (Photograph by Carey Goldstein) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 283 KB) Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park (Photograph by Carey Goldstein) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park. ... Giant Forest is part of Sequoia National Park, famed for its Giant Sequoia trees. ... For other persons named John Muir, see John Muir (disambiguation). ...

Park attractions

In addition to hiking, camping, fishing, and backpacking, the following attractions to be highlights with many park visitors:

• Tunnel Log, a fallen sequoia that automobiles can drive through;
• Crystal Cave, protected since 1918 and the only one of over 200 caves in the two adjoining parks which can be toured; and
• Crescent Meadow, a Sequoia-rimmed meadow that John Muir called the "gem of the Sierra".

A Chrysler 300 driving through Tunnel Log

in the park include three in the foothills area: Potwisha (42 sites), Buckeye Flat (28 sites), and South Fork (10 sites). Four campgrounds are at higher, conifer-dominated elevations, ranging from 6650 to 7500 feet: Atwell Mill (21 sites), Cold Springs (40 sites), Lodgepole (214 sites), and Dorst (204 sites). Crystal Cave is a limestone cave in Sequoia National Park, one of at least 240 known caves in the park. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park. ... For other persons named John Muir, see John Muir (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 1. ... The Chrysler 300 is a full-size entry-level luxury vehicle designed by Ralph Gilles. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ...

See also

• Sierra Nevada
• List of guidebooks about the Sierra Nevada
• Ecology of the Sierra Nevada
• Kaweah Colony
• Timeline of environmental events
• Sequoia

This article is about the mountain range in the Western United States. ... The following is a partial list of guidebooks about the Sierra Nevada of California, USA. Please see Sierra Nevada for more information. ... Biotic zones in Yosemite The Ecology of the Sierra Nevada is diverse and complex: the plants and animals are a significant part of the scenic beauty of the mountain range. ... Kaweah Colony originally named the General Sherman tree as the Karl Marx tree. ... The timeline of environmental events is a historical account of events that have shaped humanitys perspective on the environment. ... Binomial name Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. ...

External links and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Sequoia National Park

• Sequoia National Park Webcam
• Official site: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park
• Online map
• QTVRs in Sequoia National Park
• Challenge of the Big Trees (by Lary M. Dilsaver and William C. Tweed) - Comprehensive natural and human history of the park; full text of book online
• Sequoia National Park 360 Image (Java)
• General Sherman 360 Image (Java)

1. ^ NPS Backcountry information http://www.nps.gov/archive/seki/bcinfo.htm
2. ^ Magical underground world: Just-discovered cave in Sequoia National Park http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/24/CAVE.TMP&feed=rss.news

• Pictures from a Mineral King loop hike

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

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