Sequoia National Park

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are two spaced in California's Sierra Nevada in the western United States. The total area of both parks is approximately 3,500 square kilometers.

The landscape of the two neighboring parks has due to the extremely varying heights from 412 m to about 4000 m on a wide variety. Huge mountains, deep canyons and tall trees form a wide variety of habitats for animals and plants. The main attraction are the magnificent giant sequoia trees that can reach a height of more than 80 m and a diameter of about 11 m.

The managed as a joint unit of the National Park Service parks are among the best known in the United States. They are visited annually by more than 1.5 million people.

Geography, geology and climate

The National Park Kings Canyon and Sequoia near each other in the central part of the Sierra Nevada in California. You are about 320 miles north of Los Angeles and also about 320 km south-east of San Francisco. Both parks can be reached in about four hours from both cities. The entrance to Kings Canyon is located approximately 80 km east of Fresno and the entrance to Sequoia is about 55 kilometers east of Visalia. The park borders in the north and east on the John Muir Wilderness. In the south and west, they border on the Giant Sequoia National Monument and Sequoia National Forest. The Golden Trout Wilderness is located in the south and the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness is located in the west.

The area of ​​the park extends from about 412 m to 4,418 m altitude. The mountain range of the Sierra Nevada forms the eastern border of the park. Among the numerous vorzufindenden here four thousand is also the highest mountain in the United States outside of Alaska, the 4418 m high Mount Whitney. The emergence of the rock is due to plate tectonic processes. The Pacific plate is pushed for about 180 million years ago under the driving to the northwest North American plate into the earth and melted. 17 million years ago, the western part of the North American continent by tectonic movements was recorded, which led to the lifting and stretching of the continental crust. During this time the course of the Sierra Nevada was strongly suggests discarded to the east. The eastern edge warp which forms the high mountain chain along the eastern border today was thereby increased by several thousand meters, with lowered the west side. The exposed edge weathered rapidly, and the tiefenvulkanischen Batholithe and sticks were partially exposed. In the slowly heaving rock layers the rivers ate deep, narrow valleys, which extended the Ice Age glaciers over the past 2 million years to characteristic trough valleys, such as Kings Canyon.

While in Sequoia National Park climate and vegetation are subalpine to alpine, you find yourself in the neighboring Kings Canyon abruptly in a hot dry valley in the summer and again in which desert plants thrive. The moderate rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year.

History

The aborigines

Since around the 9th century lived in different valleys of the park three tribes of the Shoshone. A fourth resident of the San Joaquin Valley group spent occasionally called the Park area. The first encounter with the whites took place at the beginning of the 19th century. In the first half of the century, people lived without significant mutual interference to each other. The whites were negligible, since they often took on the lifestyle of the locals. The turning point came in 1848, when gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada. The pouring into the country prospectors, adventurers and settlers displaced people residing in their valleys. It came on both sides to violence. 1862, the majority of the indigenous population was struck down by introduced European diseases such as smallpox, measles and scarlet fever. The survivors left the area and moved eastward across the Sierra Nevada, so that from 1865 lived no more natives in the region.

Discovery, Gold Rush and the age of the wood industry

In 1839 was in a book - the first was largely ignored - for the first time of ' incredible ' talking trees, which had discovered the participants of an expedition through the Sierra Nevada in 1833. Really they took note of the trees but only on the basis of a newspaper article published in 1852. Immediately individual redwoods began to measure the dimensions of the cases. Tree segments were later transported for exhibition purposes to the East Coast to Europe. On the east coast it was believed at first a lot of dizziness, because the tree segments for rail transport had to be sawed. As it turned out soon, was the wood of the Sequoias of low quality. Nevertheless, many trees were cut down. They found use as firewood or processed into fence posts and to a small extent to railway sleepers.

In the 1870s, the area of the later Sequoia National Park, one of the many gold rush centers in California. Mineral King, the gold mining town in the southern part of the park dates from that period. 1881 was the gold boom so abruptly quickly to an end, as he had broken, and Mineral King was temporarily a ghost town. With tourism a short time later onset of the place awoke to new life. By 1880, the timber industry had its heyday. Whole sections of forests were the saw and the ax to the victim. Cattle breeders contributed by extensive livestock farming and slash and burn to the destruction of forests and meadows. There were a few settlers and the Kaweah Colony, a socialist commune, but was only from 1887 to 1890 and - because she had no title deeds on the ground - was abandoned in the establishment of the national park.

Creation of national parks

The creation of national parks to protect the highly stressed nature is closely connected to the two pioneers Hale Tharp and John Muir. Led by Indian friends, the cattle breeders and prospectors Hale Tharp reached in 1858 as the first white man in the forest part now known as the Giant Forest. At times he lived in a fallen hollow sequoia trunk, the Tharp 's Log. There he was visited by 1875, the naturalists and conservationists John Muir, of the Giant Forest gave his name. Muir was one of the main initiators of the Sequoia National Park project, which was realized in 1890. On the initiative of Gustaf iron, the area was soon tripled it. In 1890 also the Grant Grove National Park was created, which was established in 1940 integrated into the newly created Kings Canyon National Park. Since 1948, the two parks are managed together.

Flora

The extreme topography of the two national parks with their height difference of 412 m in the foothills up to 4,417 m at the crest of the Sierra have a variety of different living conditions created - from hot and arid lowlands in the western part of the park to the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada. This could be in the area of national parks over 1,200 different species which represents alone about 20 percent of the occurring in California plant species colonize. These include not only the famous giant sequoias, but also other trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers.

On the western edge of the park, the lush pastures of the Central Valley is in a bushland from slow-growing, gnarled blue oaks, which can be several hundred years old, and evergreen dwarf oaks on. Unlike the rest of the National Park, can be found in the largely native plant species, the meadows exist in the Foothills mainly of annual grasses, which were settled from the mid-19th century in California and have spread over time.

On the slopes of the lower and middle layers of the Sierra Nevada are in contrast to most other coniferous forests in the world, which are typically dominated by a single species, a considerable number of different tree species. Groves so - called - In this part of the park, ponderosa pines, incense cedars, American White firs, sugar pines and giant sequoias, often in loose groups are mixed together, but also individually occur in the midst of other trees. Belonging to the family of bald cypress Giant Sequoias - also called Welling or Tonien redwoods - thrive only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in California means at an altitude 1200-2400 m. Among them you will find the largest trees on earth. The General Sherman Tree Sequoia called is 84 m high and has a base diameter of 10 m. The tree is considered the largest living thing in the world. The Giant Sequoias are probably up to 3200 years old. Previously you even went out of a maximum age of 4000 or even 6000 years. In the high mountain regions of the mixed forest is almost completely replaced by red spruce, pine trees and the coast up to the tree line occurring foxtail pines. In areas do not allow for tree growth due to high humidity or too little soil, one also finds meadows and pastures, which consist of a variety of grasses, reeds and wildflowers, and represent an ideal habitat for small mammals, birds and insects.

In the area of the Rocky Mountains, where due to the short growing seasons and harsh winters, only the toughest plants survive, soft low-growing perennial herbs, the trees that make up most ground -covering mats or small hills. During the brief and intense summer bloom even in these documents magnificent flowers that need to lose their seeds in the short time until the return of winter.

At the beginning of Park History forest fires were fought immediately in the Arialen the Sequoias. Once you found a decline in young Sequoia trees in subsequent years, the following are relevant to the (Fort ) inventory giant trees conditions were determined:

In the national parks are on the basis of these findings, indications that point to the relevance of fires.

Fauna

Some common mammals of the Sierra Nevada, and the two parks include black bears, mule deer, coyotes, foxes, marmots, raccoons, porcupines, martens and pikas. In addition, you will find the ubiquitous ground and tree squirrels, and eight species of bats. In remote parts of the park live some few mountain lions and bighorn sheep.

Among the 160 species of birds in the park is dominated by small birds. Are widespread flight and partridges, the dark blue Steller, several species of woodpeckers, nuthatches, various species of finches, warblers, tyrants, tanagers, robins, swallows, American Dipper, wrens and hummingbirds. In addition to occurring in the forests of birds of prey such as hawks, buzzards and owls, have the rock faces of Tokopah Valley nestled golden eagle in recent years. In addition, some snakes, salamanders and frogs in the lower regions of the park and Kings Canyon live.

Tourism

In contrast to the Yosemite National Park and Grand Canyon National Parks Sequoia and Kings Canyon are not flooded every year by millions of visitors. Both parks are beautiful, with plenty of unspoiled wilderness, but not as popular. It can be reached only by car or a guided tour, but not with public transport.

The main attraction of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are undoubtedly the different groups of sequoias, through the many short walks. The biggest giants can be found in the Giant Forest in the Sequoia also the largest ever, the General Sherman Tree stands.

Other well-known attractions are:

  • The 2050 m high Moro Rock, a dome-shaped granite monolith that can be climbed by a steep, carved in stone stairs. From the highest point gives a panoramic view of the forest, the valleys and on the high mountain range in the east.
  • The Crystal Cave, a limestone cave, are offered by the different tours.
  • The 1 ½ km long Big Stump Trail at the western entrance of the Park Kings Canyon National Park, which runs through a big old mature plantation with dancing stage large tree trunks in the middle. Here were at all like in the second half of the 19th century, the probably largest Sequoias.
  • The General Grant Tree in Grant Grove, the second largest tree by volume of Earth. It is 81 ½ meters, and has a base diameter of 10 m. It is estimated that he is not quite 2000 years old.
  • Kings Canyon and the Valley of the Kings River, a rough, high of sometimes more than 1500 m, vertical rock walls flanked valley with narrow, deep gorges and waterfalls.

Because of their diversity, the two national parks offer a wide range of possible activities. They range from hiking and mountaineering to fishing to wildlife viewing and horseback riding. The trails range from short strolls to multi-day hikes. In the Giant Forest and in the Grant and the Cedar Grove many short walks and some trails are created. They lead to the largest and most spectacular redwood trees, to interesting tree groupings to forest clearings, streams and viewpoints. Also popular are hikes are out in remote areas of the hinterland, in particular, of Cedar Grove. The hiking trails along rivers, to small mountain lakes, mountain ridges and peaks of the east protracted high mountain chain. Famous is the some 100 km long John Muir Trail, which passes through both parks in north-south direction and to Yosemite National Park. Other well-known hiking trails are the Pacific Crest Trail and the High Sierra Trail. Overall, the visitors are about 2000 km of marked trails.

Hotels, restaurants and small grocery stores are located in the Villages of Park Giant Forest, Stony Creek, Grant Grove and Cedar Grove. The large camping sites are the Sunset, the Dorst and the Lodgepole campground. Among the medium-sized places include the Azalea, the Moraine and the Sheep Creek campsite. These half a dozen come smaller and partly loose comfortable camping and tent sites.

The peak season in the two parks will take approximately from early June to late September. For large crowds, it comes in July and August.

Information about the history of the park, the flora and fauna, geology, to individual or guided hikes and other activity opportunities are available in various visitor centers ( Visitor Center ) in the park. The visitor center of Kings Canyon National Park is located near the Grant Grove, the Sequoia National Park in Lodgepole. Both centers also show small exhibitions. In addition, at regular intervals, slide shows and short films will be shown.

Meanwhile, some of the established sights of the park will not be held further repaired. The above- mentioned tunnel log still exists, the tribe only a few meters adjacent a giant tree, on which one could go by car, is now closed to the public. In addition, large parts of the historic wooden houses of the Giant Forest Lodge Historic District from 1990 to 2000 were demolished because they were too close to the trees in the Giant Forest. The buildings themselves and the visitors that they could rent, damaged the roots of the giant sequoia trees, which are particularly sensitive as extreme shallow roots. The demolition has long been controversial because the houses were registered since 1978 in the National Register of Historic Places and were under monument protection.

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