Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park

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Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park
Sequoia with human for comparison, Sequoia National Park, California
Sequoia with human for comparison, Sequoia National Park, California
Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park (USA)
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Coordinates: 36 ° 36 '20.7 "  N , 118 ° 43' 58.6"  W.
Location: California , United States
Next city: Visalia , California
Surface: 3,504.4 km²
Founding: September 25, 1890 (Sequoia)
March 4, 1940 (Kings Canyon)
Visitors: 1,229,594 (Sequoia)
699,023 (Kings Canyon) (2018)
Address: Sequoia & Kings Canyon Ntl Park
47050 Generals Highway
Three Rivers, CA 93271-9700
Tel : 1-559-565-3341
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The Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park are two national parks in California's Sierra Nevada in the western United States . The two parks are directly adjacent to each other and are managed by the National Park Service as a single unit. They are among the most famous national parks in the United States and are visited by more than 2 million people annually. The total area of ​​both parks is 3504.5 square kilometers.

The landscape of the two neighboring parks is very diverse due to the extremely different heights from 412 m to over 4000 m. Huge mountains, deep canyons and tall trees create a wide variety of habitats for animals and plants. The main attraction is the impressive giant sequoia trees , which can reach a height of more than 80 m and a diameter of over 11 m.

Geography, geology and climate

The Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are close to each other in the central part of the Sierra Nevada in California . They are located approximately 320 km north of Los Angeles and also approximately 320 km southeast of San Francisco . Both parks can be reached in approximately four hours from either city. The entrance to Kings Canyon is approximately 80 km east of Fresno and the entrance to Sequoia is approximately 55 km east of Visalia . The parks border the John Muir Wilderness to the north and east . To the south and west they border the Giant Sequoia National Monument and the Sequoia National Forest . The Golden Trout Wilderness is to the south and the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness is to the west.

The park area extends from approx. 412 m to 4418 m in height. The Sierra Nevada mountain range forms the eastern border of the two parks. Among the numerous four-thousand-meter peaks to be found here is the highest mountain in the USA outside of Alaska , Mount Whitney , 4418 m high . The formation of the mountains is due to plate tectonic processes. For around 180 million years, the Pacific plate has been pushed under the North American plate , which is drifting to the northwest, into the interior of the earth and melted. 17 million years ago, the western part of the North American continent was affected by tectonic movements that led to the uplift and expansion of the continental crust. During this time the course of the Sierra Nevada was strongly rejected to the east . The eastern fault edge, which today forms the high mountain range along the eastern border, was raised by several thousand meters, with the western side falling. The exposed edge quickly weathered, and the deep volcanic batholiths and sticks were partially exposed. The rivers carved deep, narrow valleys into the slowly rising rock layers, which the Ice Age glaciers expanded into characteristic trough valleys such as Kings Canyon over the past 2 million years .

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

history

The indigenous people

Since around the 9th century, three Shoshone tribes lived in different valleys of the parks . A fourth group, based in the San Joaquin Valley , occasionally stayed in what is now 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 side by side without any significant mutual interference. The whites were hardly of any consequence, as they often adopted the local way of life. The turning point came in 1848 when gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada. The gold prospectors, adventurers and settlers pouring into the country pushed the local people out of their valleys. There was violence on both sides. In 1862, most of the local population was struck down by diseases such as smallpox , measles and scarlet fever brought in from Europe . The survivors left the area and moved eastwards over the Sierra Nevada, so that from 1865 onwards there were no more indigenous people in the region.

Discovery, Gold Rush, and the Age of the Timber Industry

Felled sequoia

In 1839, a book - which initially went largely unnoticed - first mentioned 'incredibly large' trees, which the participants in an expedition through the Sierra Nevada had discovered in 1833. However, the trees were not really noticed until a newspaper article appeared in 1852. Individual sequoia trees were felled immediately to measure their dimensions. Tree segments were transported to the east coast for exhibition purposes and later also to Europe. On the east coast it was first believed in a cunning swindle, since the tree segments had to be sawn up for the railroad transport. As it soon turned out, the wood of the Sequoias was of poor quality. Nevertheless, numerous trees were felled. They were used as firewood or were made into fence posts and, to a lesser extent, into railroad ties.

In the 1870s, what would later become Sequoia National Park was one of California's many gold rush centers . Mineral King, the little gold mining town in the southern part of the park, dates from that time. In 1881 the gold boom ended as suddenly as it had broken out, and Mineral King temporarily became a ghost town . With the tourism that started shortly afterwards, the place awoke to new life. The timber industry had its heyday around 1880. Whole parts of the forest fell victim to the saw and the ax. Cattle breeders contributed to the destruction of the forests and meadows through extensive animal husbandry and slash and burn. Some settlers followed and with the Kaweah Colony a socialist commune , which only existed from 1887 to 1890 and - since it had no title on the land - was abandoned when the national park was established.

Establishment of the national parks

Tunnel Tree around 1940

The establishment of the national parks to protect the heavily stressed nature is closely linked to the two pioneers Hale Tharp and John Muir . Led by Indian friends, the cattle farmer and gold prospector Hale Tharp was the first white man to come to what is now known as the Giant Forest in 1858 . For a while he lived there in a fallen, hollow sequoia tree, the Tharp's Log . There he was visited in 1875 by the naturalist and conservationist John Muir, who gave the Giant Forest its name. Muir became one of the main initiators of the Sequoia National Park project, which was realized in 1890. On the initiative of Gustaf Eisen , the area was soon tripled. In 1890, Grant Grove National Park was created, which was integrated into the newly created Kings Canyon National Park in 1940 . The two parks have been managed jointly since 1948.

flora

Giant sequoia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ) in the snow
There is a walking path around the Round Meadow that shows a variety of creatures

The extreme topography of the two national parks with their difference in altitude from 412 m in the foothills to 4417 m on the ridge of the Sierra created a variety of different living conditions - from the hot and dry lowlands in the western part of the parks to the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada. This enabled over 1200 different species to settle in the national park area, which alone make up over 20 percent of the plant species occurring in California. These include not only the famous giant sequoias , but also other trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers.

At the western edge of the park, the lush grasslands of the Central Valley merge into scrubland of slow-growing, gnarled blue oaks , which can live for several hundred years, as well as evergreen dwarf oaks . In contrast to the rest of the national park, in which mostly native plant species can be found, the meadows in the foothills area mainly consist of annual grasses that were settled in California from the mid-19th century and have spread over time.

In contrast to most other coniferous forests in the world, which are usually dominated by a single tree species, there are a considerable number of different tree species on the slopes of the lower and middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada . In this part of the park, yellow pines , incense cedars , American silver firs , sugar pines and giant sequoias mix , which are often in loose groups - so-called groves - but also occur individually in the middle of other trees. The giant sequoias belonging to the bald cypress family - also called Wellingtonia or sequoia trees - thrive exclusively on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada of Central California at an altitude of 1200 to 2400 m. Among them are the largest trees on earth. The sequoia tree called General Sherman Tree is 84 m high and has a base diameter of 10 m. The tree is considered to be the largest living thing in the world. The giant sequoias are believed to be up to 3200 years old. In the past, people even assumed a maximum age of 4000 or even 6000 years. In the high mountain areas of mixed forest is almost completely superb fir , coastal pines , as well as up to the tree line occurring foxtail pines replaced. In areas that do not allow trees to grow due to too much moisture or too little soil, there are also meadows and floodplains that consist of a variety of grasses , reeds and wildflowers , and represent an ideal habitat for smaller mammals , birds and insects .

In the area of ​​the rocky mountains, where only the hardest plants survive due to the short growth phases and harsh winters, the trees give way to low-growing perennial herbs that mostly form mats or small mounds that cover the ground. During the short and intense summer, magnificent flowers bloom even in these locations, which have to lose their seeds in the short time before the return of winter.

Sign indicating fires in Sequoia National Park

At the beginning of the park's history, forest fires were immediately fought in the areas of the Sequoias. After a decline in the young Sequoia trees was determined in the following years, the following conditions relevant for the (continued) existence of the giant trees were determined:

  1. Forest fires "clean" the soil of competing plants.
  2. When exposed to heat, the cones of the sequoias open so that the seeds fall to the ground.
  3. The ash remaining after a fire creates a breeding ground for the seeds that are thrown off.
  4. Sequoias can still survive despite great heat and fire exposure.

Based on these findings, there are indications in the national parks that indicate the relevance of fires.

fauna

Frequently found tiaras

Common mammals in the Sierra Nevada and the two parks include black bears , mule deer , coyotes , foxes , marmots , raccoons , martens and whistles . In addition, you will find the ubiquitous ground squirrels and tree squirrels as well as eight bat species . A few mountain lions and bighorn sheep live in secluded parts of the park .

Small birds dominate among the 160 bird species native to the park. Common birds and partridges, the dark blue diademed jay , several types of woodpecker , nuthatches , various types of finches , wood warblers , tyrants , tanagers , robots , swallows , gray water dippers , wrens and hummingbirds . In addition to the birds of prey that can be found in the forests, such as hawks, buzzards and owls, golden eagles have also nested on the rock faces of the Tokopah Valley in recent years . In addition, some species of snakes , salamanders and frogs live in the lower park regions and the Kings Canyon .

tourism

Unlike Yosemite National Park and the Grand Canyon , Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are not inundated by millions of visitors annually. Both parks are beautiful, with lots of unspoilt wilderness, but not that popular. You can only get there with your own car or on a guided tour, not by public transport.

The main attraction of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are undoubtedly the various groups of sequoias through which there are many short footpaths. The largest giants can be found in the Giant Forest , which also houses the largest sequoia of all, the General Sherman Tree .

Other famous sights are:

Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park
View from Moro Rock in west direction of the valley formed by the Kaweah River and the serpentine ascent of California State Route 198
View from Moro Rock in east direction to the mountain landscape
  • the 2050 m high Moro Rock , a dome-shaped granite monolith, which can be climbed via a steep staircase carved into the rock. From the highest point you get a panoramic view of the forest, the valleys and the high mountain range in the east.
  • the Crystal Cave , a stalactite cave, through which various tours are offered.
  • the 1½ km long Big Stump Trail at the western park entrance of Kings Canyon National Park, which leads through the middle of a large old logging area with tree stumps the size of a dance stage. This is where the probably largest sequoias of all were felled in the second half of the 19th century.
  • the General Grant Tree in Grant Grove , the second largest tree on earth by volume. It is 81½ m high and has a base diameter of 10 m. It is estimated that it is not quite 2000 years old.
  • the Kings Canyon and the valley of the Kings River , a rough valley flanked by vertical cliffs, some more than 1500 m high, with narrow, deep gorges and waterfalls.

Due to their diversity, the two national parks offer a large number of possible activities. They range from hiking and mountain climbing to fishing to wildlife viewing and horse riding . The hiking trails range from short walks to multi-day hikes. There are many short walks and some nature trails in the Giant Forest, Grant and Cedar Grove. They lead to the largest and most spectacular sequoias, to groups of trees that are worth seeing, to forest clearings, streams and viewpoints. Hikes to remote areas of the hinterland are also popular, especially from Cedar Grove. The hiking trails lead along rivers, to small mountain lakes, on ridges and mountain peaks of the high mountain range stretching to the east. Famous is the several 100 km long John Muir Trail , which crosses both parks in a north-south direction and leads to Yosemite National Park. Other well-known hiking trails are the Pacific Crest Trail and the High Sierra Trail . A total of around 2000 km of marked hiking trails are available to visitors.

Hiking near Atwell Mill

Hotels, restaurants, and small grocery stores are located in the Park Villages of Giant Forest, Stony Creek, Grant Grove, and Cedar Grove. The big campsites are the Sunset, Dorst and Lodgepole campsites. Medium-sized sites include the Azalea, Moraine, and Sheep Creek Campground. There are also half a dozen smaller and partly comfortable camping and tent sites.

The main season in the two parks is from the beginning of June to the end of September. The crowds come in July and August.

Information on the history of the park, flora and fauna, geology, individual or guided hikes and other activities are available in the various visitor centers in the park. The Kings Canyon National Park visitor center is located near Grant Grove, and that of Sequoia National Park is in Lodgepole. Both centers also show small exhibitions. In addition, audio shows and short films are shown at regular intervals.

The Tunnel Log in 2005

In the meantime, some of the park's attractions are no longer being maintained. The tunnel Log mentioned above still exists, the trunk of a giant tree, which is only a few meters away and which you could drive up to by car, is now closed to the public. In addition, from 1990 to 2000 large parts of the historic wooden houses of the Giant Forest Lodge Historic District were demolished because they were too close to the trees of the Giant Forest . The buildings themselves and the visitors who could rent them damaged the roots of the giant sequoia trees, which are particularly sensitive as extreme shallow roots . The demolition was long controversial because the houses had been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978 and were listed.

literature

  • Birke, Siegfried (translator) et al .: USA National Parks. National Geographic Guide ; ISBN 3-934385-05-2
  • Don Laine et al .: Frommer's Yosemite & Sequoia / Kings Canyon National Parks ; ISBN 0-7645-6577-X
  • Laurel Scheidt: Hiking Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks ; ISBN 0-7627-1122-1

Web links

Commons : Sequoia National Park  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
Commons : Kings Canyon National Park  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files