Kings Canyon National Park

Kings Canyon National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location Fresno County & Tulare County, California, USA
Nearest city Fresno
Area 461,901 acres (186,925 ha)[1]
Established March 4, 1940
Visitors 598,205 (in 2010)[2]
Governing body National Park Service
This article is about Kings Canyon National Park, USA. For Kings Canyon, Australia, see Kings Canyon (Northern Territory).

Kings Canyon National Park is a National Park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. The park was established in 1940 and covers 461,901 acres (186,925 ha).[1] It incorporated General Grant National Park, established in 1890 to protect the General Grant Grove of giant sequoias.

The park is north of and contiguous with Sequoia National Park; the two are administered by the National Park Service jointly.

Contents

History

Kings Canyon had been known to white settlers since the mid-19th century, but it was not until John Muir first visited in 1873 that the canyon began receiving attention. Muir was delighted at the canyon's similarity to Yosemite Valley, as it reinforced his theory regarding the origin of both valleys, which, though competing with Josiah Whitney's then-accepted theory that the spectacular mountain valleys were formed by earthquake action, Muir's theory later proved correct: that both valleys were carved by massive glaciers during the last Ice Age.

Then United States Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes fought to create the Kings Canyon National Park. He hired Ansel Adams to photograph and document this among other parks, in great part leading to the passage of the bill in March 1940.[3] The bill combined the General Grant Grove with the backcountry beyond Zumwalt Meadow.[4]

Kings Canyon's future was in doubt for nearly fifty years. Some wanted to build a dam at the western end of the valley, while others wanted to preserve it as a park. The debate was settled in 1965, when the valley, along with Tehipite Valley, was added to the park.

Geography

Kings Canyon National Park consists of two sections. The small, detached General Grant Grove section preserves several groves of giant sequoias, including the General Grant Grove, with the famous General Grant Tree, and the Redwood Mountain Grove, which is the largest remaining natural grove of giant sequoias in the world (covering 3,100 acres (1,300 ha) and with 15,800 sequoia trees over one foot 1 foot (30 cm) in diameter at their bases). The park's Giant Sequoia forests are part of 202,430 acres (81,920 ha) of old-growth forests shared by Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.[5] This section of the park is mostly mixed conifer forest, and is readily accessible via paved highways.[6]

The remainder of Kings Canyon National Park, which comprises over 90% of the total area of the park, is located to the east of General Grant Grove and forms the headwaters of the South and Middle Forks of the Kings River and the South Fork of the San Joaquin River. Both the South and Middle Forks of the Kings Rivers have extensive glacial canyons. One portion of the South Fork canyon, known as the Kings Canyon, gives the entire park its name. Kings Canyon, with a maximum depth of 8,200 feet (2,500 m), is one of the deepest canyons in the United States.[6][7] The canyon was carved by glaciers out of granite. The Kings Canyon, and its developed area, Cedar Grove, is the only portion of the main part of the park that is accessible by motor vehicle. Both the Kings Canyon and its Middle Fork twin, Tehipite Valley, are deeply incised, U-shaped glacial gorges with relatively flat floors and towering granite cliffs thousands of feet high.[6] In addition, the canyon has several cave systems, one of which is the Boyden Cave, which is open to the public.

To the east of the canyons are the high peaks of the Sierra Crest, which attain an elevation of 14,248 feet (4,343 m) at the summit of North Palisade, the highest point in the park.[8][9] This is classic high Sierra country: barren alpine ridges and glacially scoured lake-filled basins. Usually snow free only from late June until late October, the high country is accessible only via foot and horse trails.[6] The Sierran crest forms the eastern boundary of the park, from Mount Goethe in the north, down to Junction Peak, at the boundary with Sequoia National Park. Several passes cross the crest into the park, including Bishop Pass, Taboose Pass, Sawmill Pass, and Kearsarge Pass. All of these passes are above 11,000 feet (3,400 m) elevation.

Recreation

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks campgrounds are located in oak woodlands in the warm, dry foothills and in the higher, cooler conifer forests. They range in elevation from 2,100 to 7,500 feet (2,300 m). Lodgepole, Dorst, Grant Grove and Atwell Mill campgrounds are near giant sequoia groves. In general, higher elevation campgrounds are cooler and closer to giant sequoias.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Listing of acreage as of 12/31/2010". Public Use Statistic Office, National Park Service. http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/Acreage/acrebypark10cy.pdf. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
  2. ^ "Five Year Annual Recreation Visits Report". Public Use Statistic Office, National Park Service. http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/viewReport.cfm?selectedReport=SystemComparisonReport.cfm. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
  3. ^ http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/history/ep5/5/
  4. ^ Dilsaver, Lary M.; William C. Tweed (1990). "Harold Ickes and the Final Battle". Challenge of the Big Trees. Sequoia National History Association. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/dilsaver-tweed/chap7c.htm. 
  5. ^ Bolsinger, Charles L.; Waddell, Karen L. (1993). Area of old-growth forests in California, Oregon, and Washington. United States Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Resource Bulletin PNW-RB-197. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rb197.pdf. 
  6. ^ a b c d "Description of the Parks". Sequoia and Kings Canyon Fire Management Plan. http://www.nps.gov/archive/seki/fire/ffmp/pdf/seki_ffmp_fmp_8description.pdf. Retrieved 2006-11-25. 
  7. ^ Hells Canyon in Oregon and Idaho is listed as the deepest. C. Alan Joyce, ed. The World Almanac (2008 ed.). New York: World Almanac Books. p. 447. ISBN 1600570720. 
  8. ^ The NGVD 29 elevation of 14,242 feet was converted using VERTCON to the NAVD 88 elevation of 14,248 feet.
  9. ^ "North Palisade, California". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2727. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 

External links

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