Redwood Mountain Grove

Map of Redwood Mountain Grove in relation to nearby groves of Sequoia.

Redwood Mountain Grove is the largest grove of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) on earth.[1] It is located in Kings Canyon National Park and Giant Sequoia National Monument on the western slope of California's Sierra Nevada. The grove contains the world's tallest giant sequoia (95 metres (312 ft)).[2] The Hart Tree and Roosevelt Tree grow in the grove and are two of the 25 largest trees by volume in the world. The largest tree is the General Sherman Tree in the Giant Forest grove to the southeast.

The Grove

The Redwood Mountain Grove contains the most giant sequoia trees within its area.[3] The grove has many natural, preserved features within the forest. The Redwood Mountain Grove exists in an area that includes parts of the Sequoia National Park and the Kings Canyon National Park, located near central California. The section of the grove that is located in the Kings Canyon National Park displays the preservation of the natural area and highlights the many natural features of the forest for visitors to view and experience. Along with the giant sequoia trees, the grove also includes ten miles of hiking trails, including the Redwood Canyon Trail as well as the Hart Tree Trail. They are open for visitors to go to the redwood grove to hike and view the trees and natural surroundings. Other features in the Redwood Mountain Grove area include Redwood Creek and hiking trail location known as the Sugar Bowl and Sugar Bowl Trail. The grove is thicker with vegetation closer to the Redwood Creek and has only trees and forest at the top of Redwood Mountain.[4]

Plant Life and Fire Studies

The grove contains many types of plant life, with the most significant being the tall giant sequoias. It also includes many types of trees within the area, and the trees that are most prominent in the grove include species such as the white fir, sugar pine, incense cedar, ponderosa pine, red fir, and Jeffrey pine. Each type of tree is most numerous different sections of the grove. The trees have a significant importance to the grove, and natural disasters such as fires have many effects on it. In 1969, parts of the grove were burned to prevent the possibility of other fires from happening, and they aided in restoring the ecosystem and natural life in the area. Fires such as these were also used for scientific research. The fires can have major effects on forests and other wilderness areas. The fires can act as part of the natural cycle for restoring natural life in the environment and ecosystems in the grove and other parks.[5] The Redwood Mountain Grove was involved in several studies that looked at different species of trees present in the grove and the environment surrounding the area. Some of these studies included the investigation of how fires affected the trees and environment in the grove.[6]

The Redwood Mountain Grove was used for the study and analysis of several fire burnings. The burnings of small areas in the grove occurred to observe and understand the effects of different fires on the environment and dangerous products eliminated. It also presented the benefits to the grove through the examination of the results of the areas burned. They highlighted the effects fires have on the many trees, other natural life, and wilderness of the Redwood Mountain Grove and its surroundings.[7]

Noteworthy trees

The worlds largest giant sequoia grove

Some of the significant trees found in the grove include

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mike White (2004). Kings Canyon National Park: A Complete Hiker's Guide. Wilderness Press. p. 51.
  2. ↑ "Gymnosperm Database: Sequoiadendron giganteum". Retrieved 2007-06-10. The tallest known giant sequoia is a specimen 94.9 m tall, first measured August 1998 in the Redwood Mountain Grove, California
  3. ↑ "King's Canyon National Park". National Parks Conservation Association. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Redwood Mountain Grove". Redwood Hikes. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Kilgore, Bruce M.; Taylor, Dan (February 1979). "Fire History of a Sequoia-Mixed Conifer Forest". Ecology (Ecological Society of America) 60 (1): 129–142. doi:10.2307/1936475.
  6. ↑ Rundel, Philip W. (January 1973). "The Relationship Between Basal Fire Scars and Crown Damage in Giant Sequoias". Ecology (Ecological Society of America) 54 (1): 210–213. doi:10.2307/1934393. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  7. ↑ St. John, Theodore V.; Rundel, Philip W. (1976). "The Role of Fire as a Mineralizing Agent in a Sierran Coniferous Forest". Oecologica (Springer in cooperation with International Association for Ecology) 25 (1): 35–45. Retrieved 7 December 2014.

External links

Coordinates: 36°41′38″N 118°55′08″W / 36.6938351°N 118.9189942°W